Remembering Sunday
by legallyxbrunette
Summary: Brooke's life is no different from any other human girl in the tiny town of Forks. What happens when a strange boy named Sebastian walks into her life with a dark secret about himself? And what happens to Brooke in the process? You'll have to read it...:D
1. Chapter 1: Breakfast

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After twenty million cycles of rereading, rough drafting, and proof-reading it to death, here it is! My new story, Remembering Sunday! And it's titled after one of my favorite songs ever. Review if you know who sings it. And remember: THIS IS NOT A REMAKE OF TWILIGHT!! This is simply a story with the same idea of Twilight. I do not mean to infringe on any copyrights and whatnot. Enjoy!

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Chapter 1.

BREAKFAST

I've lived in the gloomy town of Forks, Washington all my life. I guess you could say that by your twelfth year of living here you're waterlogged, but Forks citizens find a way to live through this permanent melancholy existence.

It's not like I've spent every day of my life in Forks; I was brought here by my mother at five years old, and living in Forks was a decision she put much thought into once she decided she wanted to wallow in her misery. And the tiny town of Forks is just perfect for depression.

Once school is over, I spend summers halfway across the country with my father in Florida. Let's just say this whole _country _isn't enough space between my mother and father. Ever since a particularly nasty divorce while I was just a toddler, they've been doing nothing but butting heads. Luckily, they try to keep things short and sweet whenever they're forced to speak to eachother, and it's simply regarding custody over me and my older sister Alyson.

Much to her dismay, Alyson spends summers in Forks; a vacation she makes a show of despising every year. She lives year-round in Tampa, Florida, the lightning capital of the United States. I spend summers with my father in Tampa and live year-round in the rainiest city in the United States. Let's just say I got the short end of the stick, but there's something I like about Forks. Call me crazy.

When my mother raised the option of moving to Forks with her, I graciously offered to leave behind almost everything I loved; beaches, the sun, the comfort of a backyard pool, palm trees, etc. in exchange for perpetual rainshowers and parkas galore.

Every morning, I wake up and take a shower; sort of a foreshadowing of what I will be wading through only hours later. My medium length brown hair is naturally wavy, a trait I inherited from my mother, who chopped most of her hair off by the time she reached the age of forty. I actually take the time to blow dry my thick mane of hair this morning, which is the morning we return from Winter Break. The blowdryer warms me up before I step out into the cool air that pelts me with icy raindrops. I pull the hood of my parka over my head and walk down the driveway to my seventeenth birthday present, a black Mazda 3, with my backpack slung over my shoulder. I try to shake some of the rain off my jacket before getting into the drivers' seat, but it's a worthless effort.

I guess you could say that this morning wouldn't be any different from any other morning in Forks. It's midway through my Junior year, so why should I expect this to be any different than any of the days in the beginning of eleventh grade? I should have bitten my tongue, because this morning started off a little worse.

I was about to climb into my car when a black Audi A5 raced down my street. Both of the right tires zoomed through a puddle of water that had pooled in a dip in the curb, which resulted in splashing my entire body, half of my car, and the majority of my slaved-over hair.

"Thanks a lot, asswipe!" I shouted to nobody, seeing as the Audi had already turned the corner and disappeared. I groaned and tried to brush off the muddy water on my ensemble, but it only spread the sludge further into the denim of my jeans. I stormed back inside to change, fully aware that this would make me late, and bolted up the stairs, where I peeled off my wet clothes.

"Is everything all right, Brooke?" my mother asked from downstairs, obviously concerned. My mother works part time at the Thriftway, one of the only grocery stores in Forks, so she usually was busy during most of the day except the early morning.

"Everything's fine, mom," I called back as I stepped into my comfiest stretchy jeans. I hung my wet clothes up in the bathroom and pulled on a different parka before I headed downstairs and said goodbye to my mother.

"I'll see you later, honey," she said, right as I closed the door behind me. I hurried into the driver's seat, buckled myself in, and drove quickly to the school parking lot, upset to find that I had to park farther from the campus than I normally would have if I'd been earlier.

I sloshed through a puddle that my crappy parking spot entailed and made my way towards North Building when I spotted the accursed Audi. My blood boiled hot in my veins and I stormed over to the car to find its owner, only to find that the car was empty. I was examining the expensive vehicle when a perfectly composed voice from behind me startled me.

"May I help you?" he asked.

I jumped. "Um, sorry," I mumbled, turning to walk away.

"Is there something you needed?" his voice had a hint of a British lilt to it, and his eyes were amused when they met mine. He had messy, honey colored hair that was brushed over his forehead, and raindrops glistened on his pale skin.

"Is this your car?" I asked, trying not to stare at him.

"Yes, it is," he replied, leaning up against it proudly, completely unconcerned that his entire backside was probably damp now.

"Thanks for splashing me earlier this morning," I said coldly, turning on my heel to walk away. The boy didn't follow me, and it surprised me how much I'd wanted him to. I stopped by my locker momentarily to exchange my books, hyperaware that I had wasted way too much time this morning to be lollygagging. I glanced in the mirror and stifled a groan at my appearance. I knew I didn't have time to obsess over my hair disaster, so I simply retrieved a notebook and my heavy History textbook and held them in my arms. I couldn't resist the temptation to fix my hair, so I set my books down and tried to squeeze some of the excess moisture out of my hair, which did absolutely no good, and resulted in tying it into a high ponytail.

I gathered my books again and sighed. This was about as good as it was going to get. When I shut my locker door, I jerked at the sight of the strange boy who'd splashed me.

"So I'm an 'asswipe', am I?" he asked lightly, a hint of British descent audible in his voice. My brow furrowed momentarily as I scanned through my memory, and I was shocked to find that he'd heard my fury-driven slur after all. Even down the street. I hadn't screamed _that_ loud, had I?

"Did you catch a glimpse at how wet I was?" I asked, hearing the annoyance in my voice. I glanced up at him to see if I had struck a wrong nerve, but he seemed indifferent to my petulance. He was surprisingly tall, and he had about five inches on me, despite the fact that I was 5''10.

"I'm sorry, I honestly didn't see you at all," he said, laughing to himself.

"Gee, thanks," I muttered. I quickened my pace a little. I didn't like how my stomach flip-flopped when his odd eyes met mine. They were a strange golden color, not quite copper, but more of an ocher.

"No, I didn't mean it like that," he said determinedly, stepping in front of me to cut off my rapid pace. A quick glance around me confirmed that the halls were nearly empty besides us, and I fidgeted in place anxiously.

"Look, I'm going to be late if I don't get to class soon," I said, trying to step past him. He didn't hesitate to slide over and block me again.

"My name's Sebastian LeBlanc," he said warmly, holding out his hand.

"Brooke Dessen," I said, staring at it unmovingly. His hand remained in the air for a few awkward seconds before he retreated it, and I brushed past him as I headed towards first period World History.

"I'll see you around," he called from behind me. He made it very clear that this wouldn't be the last time I would be seeing him judging by the sincere tone in his voice. In the classroom, I claimed my seat next to my best friend Jodi, who exploded in a vivacious conversation about a cute new student a year older than us.

I absentmindedly nodded at every few points she made about him, and it wasn't until she raised comments about his dirty blonde hair and golden eyes that I realized who she was describing. I debated as to whether or not I should bring up that Sebastian was the person who'd made me late, then decided against it. I love Jodi, but she would probably tell everybody about it unnecessarily and cause a ripple of gossip to occur, and I just didn't want that.

Every time my mind floated to thoughts of his perfectly angular jaw, his pearly white teeth, and his tousled honey blonde hair, I would snap out of it and continue to act as if I was actually interested in whatever Mrs. Picoult continued to drone on about. I was so focused on not mulling over Sebastian's stunning features that I wasn't listening when she announced a pop quiz.

"What are we doing?" I hissed to Jodi, who had already turned to the sheet of looseleaf paper she was writing a heading on.

"Pop quiz," she whispered back, handing me a sheet of looseleaf from under her pile. I dug a ballpoint pen out of my bookbag and headed my paper, completely lost as to what this test would even be about. I cringed as I waited for Mrs. Picoult to announce the instructions.

"In your own words, describe the lesson I just explained," she ordered, sitting in her chair. My eyes widened in horror as I faced the sheet of paper in front of me, and I contemplated everything she'd just said. So far, all I could recall was the hum that all the adults in _Charlie Brown _made. If I had any hope of passing this class with an "A", I would really need to pay attention.

"Psst, Jodi!" I hissed.

She glanced up from her quiz.

"What are you writing?" I mouthed.

She shrugged, her eyes wide with hopeless bewilderment, and returned to scribbling down whatever she could manage. Okay, now I was positive I wasn't the only one who had tuned out Mrs. Picoult's blathering, so maybe I would get some brownie points for describing a previous lesson I could remember. When the bell rang, I stumbled to the front desk and reluctantly turned in the paper before I gathered my belongings and headed out the door with a defeated sentiment washing over me. I headed straight for my locker to deposit the books I could, but stupidly didn't put to good use, and was startled to find Sebastian leaning up against it, blocking my entrance.

"I really need to get my books," I informed him, waiting for him to move. When he didn't, I sighed and groped for the handle to attempt to yank it open despite his presence. His unflagging company was starting to get on my nerves, and I groaned when I realized it was a pointless attempt trying to get past him.

"Will you please move?" I asked, annoyed.

"Not until you forgive me for dousing you with water," he said, flashing a big smile that nearly blinded me.

I blinked. "I forgive you," I said unsincerely. "Now please move."

He obliged, only stepping off to the side while I unlocked the door and crammed my books into the tiny space. He watched me intently while I withdrew my Honors Geometry books and then glanced into the mirror.

"You look beautiful," he said bluntly. I whirled to face him, stunned.

"Um, thanks," I said uncomfortably. I slowly swung the door closed and began to walk down the hall, not really surprised when he fell into step with me.

"How was History?" he asked, sounding genuinely curious.

"Awful. I just failed horrendously," I replied, grimacing at the thought.

He chuckled. "How?"

"Let's just say my mind was elsewhere when she was explaining the lesson she quizzed us on," I said in a conversation-ending tone, hoping he would take the hint and not pry any more. We had stopped walking and were facing eachother while students bustled around us.

"What were you thinking about?" he asked, his eyes oddly pleased. My eyebrows pulled together and I eyed him suspiciously. I was hoping it wasn't completely obvious that my thoughts had never ceased to drift towards him, and it was a little alarming that his smile grew wider the longer I hesitated. It was impossible to think he could read my mind. Was I just that transparent?

Suddenly the bell rang, interrupting my impractical reverie and signaling my tardiness.

"Thanks a lot!" I exclaimed furiously, throwing my free hand up while I hurried down the hall and towards the math classroom. Thanks to Sebastian's amazing ability to consume time and the impossibly brief five-minute interlude between classes, there was a very minuscule possibility of me making it to Mr. Krauss's classroom without having the door slammed in my face. Thankfully, Sebastian didn't follow me when I raced away at full speed. He simply stayed glued to the floor. It wasn't as if the bell's ringing only applied to me. I didn't look back as I made a hurried beeline towards Mr. Krauss's bland classroom.

"Tell me later, then," Sebastian called. Stupidly, I glanced behind me, and was thoroughly surprised to see that he had disappeared. How fast did he have to be to leave the hallway in a matter of a few seconds? In order to prevent a collision with a wall, I slowed at the outside of the classroom, only to find that Mr. Krauss had already closed the door. That could only mean one thing, and it wasn't good. I knocked frantically, hoping he would excuse my lateness if I explained to him that a strange gorgeous boy had slowed my attempts to come to class on time by the exploitation of his hypnotizing eyes.

Oh yeah, he'd buy that.

Mr. Krauss answered the door, a sour look on his face, and he scrutinized me apathetically.

"Please let me in. I swear won't happen again," I pleaded, trying to step past him unsuccessfully. I pretended like I didn't hear the obnoxious snickers directed at me coming from inside the classroom.

"No can do, little lady, " he stopped me in my tracks. "You have to go to the Administration Office and pick up a tardy slip."

I stifled back a disrespectful outburst as I turned on my heel and took my time as l stalked outside into the light drizzle. I began to walk in the direction of the administration office, but became a little apprehensive when I heard footsteps behind me. They were coming closer and louder when finally I whirled around, only to find that nobody was following me. I was seriously going insane.

"So you got kicked out of math class, huh?" an alluring voice from beside me asked. I jumped a foot in the air and shrieked at his swift appearance, then suddenly realized _he_ had been the footsteps.

"Where did you come from?" I demanded, clutching at my heart in a pathetic attempt to console it's hyperactive beating. It was pounding in my chest, threatening to burst out of my ribcage.

"You're not the only one who was late. I thought I'd sneak up on you," he said, grinning down at me. I glowered at him, many bitingly sarcastic thoughts crossing my mind.

"How very thoughtful of you," I muttered.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked, becoming apruptly serious. I dropped the acerbic act instantly and focused on his stunning face that was studying mine with apparent misunderstanding.

"Sure," I mumbled, watching his tawny eyes as he formed a question in his mind. I noticed we'd stopped walking.

"Why do hate me so much?" he asked, sounding genuinely concerned. I admit it, his question stung a little. He thought I hated him? If only he knew that most of the little things about him had been making me obsessed with him. Was I portraying my fixation for him as resentment?

"I, uh..." I stammered. Great. Now on top of thinking I hate him, he must think I'm a moron, too.

"I don't hate you," I finally said, once I got a grasp on my coherency.

"Well, you have a strange way of showing it," he muttered, so lowly I barely heard it.

"Look, I'm sorry if I made it seem like that. You're just _really_ frustrating," I affirmed. To my relief, his face lightened.

He chuckled at my observation. "Thanks."

I smiled apologetically for a moment before I decided to change the subject to something less uncomfortable. "So what class did you get kicked out of?" I asked, glancing up at him.

"Physics," he replied with a quick grin. His eyes were focused on something in the distance, but they shifted to me when he noticed I was studying him.

"So you're a science geek?" I teased.

He snorted. "Geek?"

"I'm kidding. You don't seem like a geek," I laughed.

"Too handsome?" he guessed, raising his eyebrows.

"Nah. Too egotistical," I decided.

He clutched at his heart. "Ouch. You wounded me."

I patted his shoulder comfortingly.

"You're right about me not being a geek, though. I'm an artist," he said finally.

"Oh, really?" I asked, interested now.

"I don't think I'll tell you how, though," he decided after a short pause.

"You're not doing a very good job of proving your case. How do I know you're really an artist like you claim?"

He chuckled. "I'll let you figure it out on your own," he said, picking up a steady pace towards the Administration Office again.

"What if I lose interest and I stop caring?"

He contemplated that for a moment. "Then it will be your loss."

"Well, then I accept the challenge. Let the prying begin," I said.

"Pry all you want. My lips are sealed," he said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. While his eyes bored into mine, I felt butterflies emerge in my stomach, my heartbeat accelerate, and my palms begin to sweat. It was stupid to be feeling this way. No, it was more than stupid. It was pathetic.

How long had I known Sebastian? A few hours? I thought this feeling came later. I realized that I had frozen in place and he was already twenty feet ahead of me, and still walking. Once I had snapped out of my momentary trance, he turned around and asked, "Aren't you coming?"

I shook my head, a sudden surge of defiance running through me. "No."

Confusion darted across his beautiful features, perfectly visible even from a distance. "Why not?"

"I feel sick," I lied, heading towards the parking lot now. I knew I was a horrible liar; I'd been told numerous times by my friends and family that my lies were so hopelessly palpable that I would be doomed to a life of truthfulness. My voice rose involuntarily when I lied, making it a dead giveaway. I didn't even hear footsteps this time when he snuck up behind me, gripped my wrist, and spun me to face him.

"You're lying," he accused, his eyes ablaze.

"So?" I asked. "Let me go!"

I thrashed in his iron grip and was shocked at how strong he was. What really took me by surprise was how _cold _he was. I shivered at his icy touch, and goosebumps spread over every inch of my skin. I flinched back for a split second. Talk about having the magic touch.

A surge of maternal compassion coursed through me.

"Are you okay?" I demanded suddenly, placing the palm of my free hand on his forehead. "You're ice cold!"

"I'm fine," he said, stunned by my observation.

"Are you sure?" I pressed. His hand went limp around my wrist and he took a step back from me, as if my touch had stung him. His eyes were wary for a few seconds before they returned to normal, and he changed the subject and began to amble along beside me. I matched his pace hesitantly.

"So where are you going?" he asked, sighing.

"I'm not sure. I just don't want to stay here," I admitted.

He looked slightly hurt. "Is it me?"

"What? No!" I said hurriedly. "No, I just...I don't know. You want to go somewhere?"

He was displaying a mixture of confused and astonished on his beautiful face. He stared at me in disbelief. "Together?"

I glanced around uneasily at his reaction and nodded.

His head tilted to the side. "Like where?"

"I don't know. Any suggestions?" I asked.

"How about we go get breakfast together?" he suggested.

I shrugged. "Sure." I didn't want to seem too eager, but I was secretly excited to be spending time with him. We headed towards the parking lot together, but I paused in front of his Audi.

"It won't bite," he pointed out, grinning at me. His smile nearly made my knees turn to Jell-O, and I strode over to the passenger seat and went inside. He turned the heater up and fiddled with the radio for a few seconds before giving up.

"Nice car," I commented, although cars weren't exactly a guilty pleasure for me. To be honest, they bored me to tears. The only reason I had ever displayed any interest in them was during the months prior to my birthday, where I found a way to work my Mazda fetish into every conversation with both of my parents until they finally caved, only for the sake of getting me off their back.

"Thanks, it was a birthday present from my brother and sister," he explained. Shocked by what he'd revealed, I faced him.

"You have siblings?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yes, Anneleise is my step-sister, and Chace is my step- brother."

"Why haven't I seen them in school?"

"Anneleise is a year older than me, and Chace is six years older. We just moved here from New Hampshire," he clarified.

"Wow," I breathed.

He chuckled. "It's a long story."

We were already parked flawlessly in front of a small diner that I'd never seen before, so I figured that we either weren't in town anymore or I didn't know Forks as well as I thought I did after twelve years. He gently shut his door behind him and appeared beside my door before I could even reach towards the handle. I opened my door and followed him inside, where a middle aged lady seated us at a small booth in the corner of the diner. I slid in across from him and eagerly awaited for him to begin telling his story.

"I've got time," I persisted, not hesitating to display the interest that he had sparked in me. He was certainly intriguing.

He gathered his thoughts before he spoke. "My father Giovanni met his fiance Jolene at twenty and had Anneleise shortly after their engagement. My mother Lily married her high school sweetheart Peter and they had Chace. Sadly, Peter died in the military, and Jolene died giving birth to Anneleise. My parents met many years later in Dover, New Hampshire, fell in love, married, and gave birth to me."

"Wow," I repeated. My jaw was quivering at the freezing air conditioning that was surrounding us. Goosebumps spread over my skin underneath my clothes.

"How did your parents meet?" he asked fascinatedly.

"They met in a sandwich shop in Tampa, Florida they both worked at. It's not exactly a story worth sharing," I muttered.

"Go on, I'm listening," he assured, doing a good job of appearing interested. He placed both his elbows on the table and had his hands folded under his chin while he waited.

I sighed and tried to focus on explaining comprehensibly instead of the frigid air that was blowing directly on me. I rubbed my hands over my thighs in an attempt to warm them up and began explaining, "If you were to ask either of my parents now, they would tell you this story is irrelevent or never happened. My mother was the assistant manager at a sandwich shop while my dad was the delivery boy. They started off as friends, if you could call it that, and then it progressed into a relationship. They quit their jobs together and eloped. They waited a few years before having Alyson. I was born three years later. When I was about four, they began to fight endlessly, and by the time my fifth year rolled around, divorce papers had been signed."

"I'm sorry," he murmured.

I shrugged. "It's not hard for me to talk about anymore. Explaining to a class of Kindergarteners why my mommy, daddy, sister and myself weren't a happy family anymore wasn't fun, though."

He smiled sympathetically at me.

"I'll be right with you," a passing waitress said quickly.

I turned to my menu. "What are you going to have?" I asked uninterestedly.

"I'm not hungry," he muttered, pushing the menu away from him. The way he'd said those three words sounded as if they were rehearsed. I shrugged it off, wondering why he'd suggested getting breakfast if he was just going to pass it up. "How about you?" he inquired.

"I'm thinking about the double egg sunrise," I replied, setting the menu down. He just nodded, his eyes distant. I leaned back in my seat, crossed my arms over my chest, and watched him intently. I waited for him to notice I was staring.

"Yes?" he asked, glancing up at me through his eyelashes.

I continued to gape.

"What are you doing?" His eyes were teasing.

I perched my head on my fist, never breaking his gaze. He gave up asking and imitated my posture. His golden eyes held mine for what seemed like hours until the waitress interrupted us.

"Hi, I'm Kelsey. What would you like to drink?" she asked warmly, not taking her eyes off Sebastian.

I cleared my throat, interrupting her longing stare towards him. "I'll have a water, please," I requested politely.

"I'll have the same," Sebastian said.

"Okay." She turned on her heel and left, seeming annoyed.

And the staring contest resumed.

"May I ask why you're staring at me?" he asked.

I shrugged. "You're just so damn sexy," I blurted.

He laughed loudly. "I'm counting on that," he finally murmured.

"Counting on that for what?"

"Keeping you here," he replied solemnly.

"I'm not going anywhere," I said stubbornly.

"That's not exactly in your best interest," he warned.

My brow furrowed in confusion. "Why?"

"You'll see, soon enough," he said lightly.

"I won't forget," I informed him. My eyes began to water and I blinked numerous times. He smiled victoriously, and I rolled my eyes.

He decided to change the subject. "So you never told me what you were thinking about in your History class that caused you to fail miserably."

"Ah," I said, leaning towards him and whispering, "Maybe that's because I don't want you to know."

He grinned, as if accepting a challenge.

"I'll tell you what I was thinking about in my first period English class," he offered. I weighed my options in my head, deciding as to whether or not it was worth it. If he had just been daydreaming about the bleach blonde sitting beside him the whole time, I would have to spill my thoughts and get nothing but typical male dim-wittedness in return. I was so busy contemplating my decision that I hadn't noticed when the waitress came back and set down our waters.

"Are you ready to order?" Kelsey asked, looking relieved that our staring contest was over.

Sebastian nodded, and she turned to him first. "What would you like?" she asked overenthusiastically. I was surprised at how much Kelsey's interest in him was annoying me.

"Nothing for me, please," Sebastian said, turning his gaze on me. I blinked for a second before I could regain my thoughts. What was I going to order again? The silence dragged on as my memory blanked, and Sebastian took the reigns.

"She would like the double egg sunrise," he told Kelsey, fluidly handing her both our menus. Kelsey nodded, a little perplexed by my ignominy, and left with the menus in her manicured hand.

"Are you okay?" Sebastian asked in a hushed tone.

"Yeah, fine," I said hurriedly. "And it's a deal. What were you thinking about in your English class?"

He grinned. "You tell me first."

I scowled. "Deal's off, then."

"Fine," he said, leaning towards me. "I was thinking about this beautiful girl that I met this morning."

I sank into my seat. "Oh," I breathed. My suspicions had been slightly true.

"I meant you, Brooke," he murmured, his eyes intense.

"Oh," I repeated, enthusiasm dripping in my voice.

"Now you," he instructed. When I just stared at him blankly, he elaborated, "What were you thinking about?"

"I was thinking about this boy that splashed me with muddy water earlier this morning," I said. He looked repentant until I continued. "And I couldn't stop thinking about how amazing he is." He smiled now, his tawny eyes locked with my plain brown eyes. His intense gaze shocked me a little, and it was more momentous than our lighthearted staring contest. I shifted my gaze to the side and looked away from him, an awkward feeling suddenly taking over me.

"I think we should go back to school after breakfast," I mumbled.

He nodded, unfazed by timidity. "I think that's best."

"How are you an artist?" I asked suddenly, turning back to his penetrating gaze.

"What?" His eyebrows knit in confusion.

"How are you an artist?" I repeated.

He smiled. "I'll show you sometime," he promised. Kelsey returned then with my plate of eggs in her hand. She set them down and, to my relief, left us alone. I took one bite and was surprised by ravenous my hunger was.

"You're hungry," he pointed out unnecessarily.

I nodded while I chewed. It remained relatively silent for the rest of the breakfast despite the sounds of my utensils clinking on my plate. I drained my water in an instant, and Sebastian offered his to me instantly. I wondered why his thirst and appetite were nonexistent. He watched me intently while I ate, making me apprehensive and slightly self-concious. I set my utensils down and wiped my mouth on a napkin, signaling that I was done.

"Are you done?" he asked after I took a final sip of my water.

I slid out from the booth while he placed a tip on the table, and I excused myself to the bathroom while he paid at the counter. I stood behind a large mirror and let out a huge sigh. I didn't actually have to use the restroom at all, but it was a believable excuse.

I jerked when the door swung open and a lady in her mid-eighties hobbled into a stall behind me. I turned the faucet on, letting a cool stream of water douse my wrists, relaxing me just a little bit, and I dried my forearms before I met Sebastian by the door. He stated silent on the way to the car, and once inside, it was nice and warm, a nice alternative from the glacial air conditioning inside the diner.

"What class do you have next?" Sebastian asked casually.

"After Math I have Physical Fitness," I replied in a monotone voice. Questions about my schedule frequently annoyed me. However, it was hard to seem peeved when someone's voice was so handsome.

"So do I," he said coolly, grinning at me.

I gulped. Have I mentioned that I'm not the sports type?

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I hope you enjoyed that! Finding names that I thought suited the characters is like, ten times harder than I ever imagined, so bear with me even if you think the names suck, lol. If you liked it, hated it, have any constructive criticism, etc. please review. I love hearing your opinions about this. This was a fun story to write. So please tell me what you think!

-legallyxbrunette


	2. Chapter 2: Accident

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Congratulations to Amanda Williams for answering my song question! She was the only one. Remembering Sunday is an awesome song by All Time Low, one of my favorite bands ever. Anyways, I give all you readers out there, althought there are only few ...CHAPTER TWO!! Whoo! Thank you everybody who subscribed! And those of you who reviewed (all five of you, lol), it means a lot. And please, I'm begging you, if you have the time to subscribe/favorite me, please leave me a review. I love getting them and it's quite impressive when you've got a lot, I must say! :D Anyways, enough of my babbling. Onto the story! Enjoy!

Chapter 2.

ACCIDENT

Gym should be illegal. It's humiliating.

The drive back to school was relatively quiet. Thankfully, Sebastian focused on his driving instead of my multiple horrified facial expressions. I shuddered to think of how disastrous next period would be for me normally, and the thought of Sebastian watching my every move like a hawk made the thoughts even less appealing.

Sebastian effortlessly glided into his previous parking spot and turned the engine off. In the eerie silence, he sighed and faced me.

"Time for Gym," he whispered, grinning at me.

My eyes widened in horror and I bolted out the door with my backpack in my hand. I heard his laughter while he closed his door and followed closed behind me.

"We never got our tardy slips, you know," I reminded him.

"I won't tell if you won't," he said, winking at me.

Wordlessly, we headed towards the Gym and I glanced quickly up to the sky. Dark, ugly clouds hung overhead, threatening a storm at any second. I was convinced it would rain sometime this afternoon; it was only a matter of time considering this was Washington state, but I was praying that a thunderstorm would magically appear in three seconds. Even despite rain, all of us would be forced to run a mile today. There's three words that can thoroughly describe Coach Riddell: tough as nails.

Sebastian and I parted ways at our separate locker rooms, and I hurriedly stripped out of my clothes and pulled on the embossed gray T-shirt and red mesh gym shorts that made up our P.E. uniform. The rest of the girls filed out as I was tying my laces, and I stumbled along behind them as we headed towards the track.

You see, running isn't exactly a hidden pleasure for me. I'm not terrible, but I'm leaning more towards the slower category. Coach Riddell ordered us to warm up by jogging a lap around the track first, and we congregated with the boys around the first turn.

I always hate that feeling where my legs turn to jelly before the real running even starts. I was silently cursing myself for not stretching before we began, and I resorted to blaming Sebastian.

Funny. I was doing that a lot today.

"What were you doing during second period?" Jodi asked, suddenly showing up beside me. She matched my pace with little difficulty.

"What do you mean?" I tried to concentrate on steady, even breaths while my brain focused on the ABC's.

She waited, as if there was something fully obvious that I wasn't understanding yet.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I demanded.

"I saw you from in the library, Brooke. With your hands all over the new guy," she explained. I exhaled and tried to formulate an excuse that wouldn't create an explosion of gossip.

"Jodi, I--" I began.

"Brooke, relax. I haven't told anyone. I just want to know," she said. I instantly felt a large weight lift from my shoulders, and I sighed.

"Before I even met him, Sebastian drove by my house and splashed me this morning. I saw his car at school, so I confronted him about it and he just started talking to me more. But when you saw us, I was only feeling his forehead because his hand was so _cold_!" I explained.

Jodi opened her mouth to add something, but right then Sebastian passed us. My heart stopped when he turned around and winked at me before taking off again. Jodi clutched at my arm and squealed aloud, but my face was frozen in shock.

"Brooke, snap out of it," Jodi hissed.

I blinked a few times before returning to Earth. "What?"

"It's time to run," Jodi muttered. We slowed to a stop at the last turn and moved to the center of the track while we waited to be placed into groups according to our speed. To my complete dismay, Jodi and I were separated, and to my absolute shock, I was placed in the fast group. Even worse, I was in the same group as Sebastian.

"Excited about running?" he asked, flashing a wide smile at me.

I scowled at him. "Totally," I muttered sarcastically.

He chuckled. We stretched at the starting line for a few seconds before Coach Riddell blew the whistle and we were off. Surprisingly, I wasn't gravitating towards the back of the group.

Yet.

Sebastian synchronized his pace with mine and ran beside me, not having even broken a sweat yet. Meanwhile, I was panting by the first lap, rejoicing that I hadn't already tripped over my two left feet.

"Having fun yet?" Sebastian asked.

"Tons," I replied breathlessly. He remained at my side the whole time, seeming unfazed by the lack of cheering for him. Jodi applauded my efforts as we passed her, and I felt my endurance slowly disappearing. It was very refreshing when a light drizzle began to fall from the sky as opposed to plain cloudiness, and Sebastian laughed aloud when I sighed in relief.

Other students began to pass us, and I wondered why Sebastian hadn't deserted me yet. I glanced at him for a moment and envied his relaxed attitude.

"Aren't you tired yet?" I was surprised by my volume.

"Nope," he said, as if he was enjoying a personal joke.

I rolled my eyes and focused on my own strides as we finished up our third lap. I desperately did not want to finish last. Sebastian's even, light breaths were annoying me. How was it even possible to run a mile without your breathing patterns changing at all? That's just it--it was impossible.

His easygoing attitude was slowly causing my temper to flare. As we rounded the track and approached the finishing point, I pushed my legs as fast as I could go, and Sebastian did the same. We charged through and I gasped for air while I balanced my hands on my knees. While my eyes were on the ground, I saw two sneakers approach me and I glanced up, only to find that it was Sebastian to congratulate me.

My exhaustion disappeared and left something else in its place: anger. I pointed my finger in his face.

"Why aren't you tired at all?" I demanded.

He flinched back at my finger, then narrowed his eyes at me. "I suppose when someone is as slow as you, it's not that hard," he said coldly before he turned and walked away.

A mixture of hurt and confusion crossed my face while I turned on my heel and sat down beside a concerned Jodi.

"What happened?" she asked, glancing past me for a second towards Sebastian, who was standing by himself with a blank expression on his face. I wasn't sure if raising my suspicions about his lack of fatigue was such a good idea. Knowing Jodi, she would probably just assume I was in need of a nice dose of Midol and drop the subject.

I just shrugged. Jodi's group ran next, and I returned her cheers with forced exuberance. I wasn't even sure if it was Jodi's name I was cheering anymore as thoughts flooded my brain. I had a hard time focusing when someone's finger tapped my shoulder. I turned to face them and stifled back a groan at who it was.

"What do you want?" I grumbled.

Sebastian sat down next to me, his face completely serious like stone. "I'm sorry I said that," he said, his honesty audible in every syllable. I nodded slowly, not sure if there was anything left to say.

It remained silent until Jodi finished her last lap, and by then he had already left. I sighed to myself. Maybe I was wrong; Gym was more depressing than exhausting. Jodi accompanied me to the locker room, firing questions about Sebastian at me the whole time.

"Jodi, can we please change the subject? I would love to go one minute today without anybody mentioning him," I said, balking her from questioning me any further.

Her face fell a bit and we changed in silence. A twinge of guilt struck me, but I tried to ignore it. I still hadn't shared that we'd had breakfast together, figuring it would spread across the entire school like the common cold. I could hear it now: "What was that boring girl doing with _him_?"

If I had any hope of surviving my last year-and-a-half at this school, I would have to do so with a good reputation and a low profile. Jodi quickly forgave me and began to dive into a conversation she'd had with Tobin Noel, a handsome Senior, and her object of affection as of two hours ago. I laughed with her as she explained her first conversation with him, which took place after she accidentally ran into him and scattered both of their books everywhere.

Feeling a sudden wave of honesty wash over me, I confessed everything about our little breakfast adventure. Jodi looked so immensely shocked for a few seconds that I wondered if she'd seen a ghost, but then a loud, shrill squeal erupted from her throat and she hopped up and down around me. Her sudden psycho outburst caused all of the girls around us to stop and stare, and I felt like I had "STUPID" stamped across my forehead.

"He likes you!" Jodi said exuberantly.

I stared at her skeptically.

"I'm serious, Brooke. Come on, you don't honestly think that he would follow you around so much if he doesn't like you," she said, questioning my sanity.

"Um, that's exactly what I think. Sebastian is so...gorgeous. And I'm so _lame_!" I cried, collapsing onto a bench beside me. Jodi groaned and took a seat beside me.

"Brooke, I love you, but these self-esteem issues that you have are really starting to make you delusional," she said. I rolled my eyes and looked away unseeingly, but she made me face her again.

"Brooke, I'm completely serious," she said firmly. "You're smart, you're funny, and you're much prettier than you give yourself credit for. Trust me on this. I'm your best friend, Brooke. I wouldn't lie to you about this."

I sighed, still not fully convinced. "I guess you're right."

"I am," she confirmed. "Now let's get out of these sweaty clothes before we knock someone out," she suggested, laughing. We laughed for a few minutes straight while we changed, and then she wished me good luck before she raced off, only supplying a short explanation about how she had to cross the entire campus in a matter of three seconds. I paused as I stepped out of the girls' locker room to retie my pathetic ponytail when I felt cool breath tickling my neck. I turned hesitantly and ignored how my heartbeat kicked into overdrive.

"Hello," Sebastian murmured.

"Hi," I said uncomfortably, my arms dropping to my sides once my ponytail was redone.

He chuckled. "I couldn't resist sneaking up on you again. It's much too fun."

I rolled my eyes. "Maybe for you."

"Admit it, you love the things I do to you," he taunted, his eyes teasing. I resisted the burning urge to jut my tongue out at him like a bratty baby and decided that sarcasm was the better way to go.

I sighed. "You caught me. I am madly in love with you!" With the delivery of those last words, I clutched his collar and brought him close to me. It was only lighthearted cynicism, and yet I could feel my stomach tie into a thousand knots at his closeness. His golden eyes smoldered as they gazed into mine, and before the stare became too intense to bear like this morning, I released my grip on him and took a step back. Had I gone a little too far?

To my relief, he laughed. Was I the only one who felt that aching in my abdomen when I came too close to him? Did my nearness have absolutely no effect on him at all?

"For a second there I almost believed you," he said, interrupting my thoughts that never seemed to shut up. The fluorescent exit sign at the gym doors flew past us as we burst through them and into what we were all aware was pouring rain. I followed Sebastian as we headed under the roof of South Building.

"Only in your dreams would I be madly in love with _you_," I retorted, our faces only inches apart.

"I'm afraid the proper term would be 'nightmare'," he corrected.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Very funny," I muttered.

He laughed and bounded off into the rain, seeming completely indifferent to the sheeting rain. I was embarrassed to find myself staring after him, but quickly shrugged it off. It's not like my mind hadn't been consumed with him all day, why not my eyeballs?

I massaged my temples with my fingers and closed my eyes, silently imagining myself into my happy place. I didn't get to spend much time there before I was dragged back down to Earth, and into English class.

"Brooke Dessen!" Ms. McDaniel said loudly.

I opened my eyes and sat up. "Yes?"

"Pay attention. This isn't Yoga 101, so stop meditating in your little corner over there and concentrate on me," she snapped. I figured that my little ditching fiasco would cause me enough detention, and biting Ms. McDaniel's head off with an excuse nobody would give the time of day to wouldn't help anything. I gnawed on my lip to prevent a stream of profanities from spilling out and sank into my chair, staring at the dry erase board unseeingly until I was saved by the bell.

The cafeteria didn't hold any more comfort than the rain did, seeing as I usually sat at a table with a few acquaintances that hardly even acknowledged my existence. I waited in the lunch line and settled for a small salad since my appetite was near nonexistent thanks to breakfast à la Sebastian.

I exhaled, awaiting another monotonous lunchtime, when I heard a familiar voice call my name from across the cafeteria. To my absolute horror, the majority of the lunchroom turned to gape at me, and I wanted to sink into my shell and die. I reluctantly made my way towards the table where a pleased Sebastian sat by himself. I hadn't even imagined that he might have the same lunch as me, but it didn't come as much of a relief, more as a minor annoyance.

"Thanks a lot," I muttered.

"I can leave..." he offered, standing up.

"No, no!" I exclaimed, gripping his rock hard arm and yanking him back down into his seat. That would be completely embarrassing for him to desert me after that little stunt he'd just pulled. He smirked at my obvious desperation, but remained where he was.

"Not hungry, huh?" he asked, gesturing to my salad.

"Not especially. How about you?" I countered.

He made a face, then looked down. "I'll pass for now."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course you will," I muttered under my breath. I was positive he couldn't hear me, no human ears could, but he perked up after I'd said it, then innocently shifted his gaze downwards again. How on Earth could he have heard that?

I quickly shrugged the thought away. Was he anorexic or something? That was the only logical explanation that came to mind. All the teenage boys I knew stuff their faces like food is going extinct.

"I have the feeling that detention is in our future," I said finally.

"Yes, I suppose," he sighed.

I just nodded absentmindedly, uncaring that I probably seemed like the most uncoordinated creature next to his godliness. It seemed we were both lost in thought, and I poked my salad around with my fork inattentively.

"I have no regrets, though," he murmured.

My God, was he always so frank?

"Um," was all I could manage.

He chuckled. It was if I could feel every pair of eyes boring into my back, judging my every move harshly. Sebastian's eyes were so penetrating that it was hard to look into them for too long. I stared down at my salad and refused to look his way for the rest of lunch. As soon as the bell rang, I sprung out of my seat and dumped my relatively untouched salad into the garbage before I headed back into the halls. In my haste to get to class, I didn't even notice that I had to run back to North building and was caught by Mr. Krauss.

"Ms. Dessen!" he shouted.

I turned reluctantly and cringed. "Yes?"

"Where's that tardy slip for missing my class?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "You were gone an awfully long time."

"Yes, I was," I agreed, clenching my jaw to hold back my sarcasm. I intentionally dodged the first question for my own sake.

"So where's the slip?" he demanded.

I looked down at the ground. "Still at the office," I mumbled.

He was outraged. "You didn't get it?"

"No," I answered feebly.

"Where were you?" he asked.

"I was ditching, sir," I said, trying to maintain respect.

To my absolute surprise, he burst into laughter. I was staring at him in confused awe for a few minutes before he stopped and said, "Very funny, Dessen. Really, where were you?"

"Seriously, I was ditching," I repeated, saying each word slowly and thoroughly so he understood. It felt like I was explaining Quantum Physics to a five-year-old at the grasp he was achieving.

He laughed again as he scrutinized me. "That's even funnier the second time. Honestly, Dessen, where were you?"

"I was _ditching_!" I persisted.

"You're not capable of ditching. Atleast not by yourself. Who was with you?" he asked, all traces of humor gone.

I gulped. There was that transparency thing again. "Nobody," I lied.

"I was with her," came a smooth, melting-honey, slightly-British voice from behind me. I looked up at the ceiling and let out a quiet groan. How on Earth did he always sneak up on me? And how did Mr. Krauss not see him coming?

"You were?" Mr. Krauss asked, facing Sebastian with his eyebrows raised suspiciously.

Sebastian nodded matter-of-factly.

"What were you doing together?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at us. Oh God, what did he _think_ we were doing?

"We had breakfast," Sebastian said coolly. If I hadn't been with him at the time, it would have been very hard not to trust him. I glanced at the both of them, and Mr. Krauss looked thoroughly convinced, but he still looked unhappy.

"Well, thank you for being honest with me, but I'm afraid you will both have detention after school today with me," he said. I nodded, accepting my punishment, and I turned on my heel and walked away. Sebastian followed me.

"Aren't you happy I came to help you out?" he asked, smiling.

"Ecstatic," I grumbled, speeding up. He didn't hesitate to do the same.

"What have I done to make you upset?" he asked quietly, seeming undeniably frustrated.

"It's not what you've done, it's what you keep doing!" I exclaimed angrily. I felt a little bad for exploding at him, but his unfaltering way of just materializing out of thin air behind me was rubbing me the wrong way.

His eyebrows pulled together in confusion. "Huh?"

"How do you keep sneaking up on me? And...why?" I demanded.

He shrugged. "I told you. It's fun." I noticed he dodged my first question. I couldn't help but wonder why, though. And the fact that he avoided answering it only made me more curious.

"No. Sneaking up on people is creepy," I insisted.

He looked hurt for a second. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not trying to ruin your fun or anything. I'm just really not in the mood," I said, softening my tone so as to not wound him. He still looked a little crushed, and there was that persistent twinge of guilt again. I just really love to crush people's spirits, don't I? I began to turn so I could abandon yet another awkward situation when Sebastian's hand grabbed my elbow and turned me to face him.

"Brooke, I have something to tell you," he said quietly, his tone urgent.

"Um, okay," I mumbled, a little scared by the intensity in his eyes.

He glanced around us at the halls buzzing with students before he spoke again. "Not here. Meet me after detention today so I can give you something. It's important."

I nodded at the severity in his tone, then wondered if this could be the answer to his first question. Only I didn't think he would get so somber about it. What if the truth was as far-fetched as my suspicions, after all?

There I go again with my hyperactive imagination.

"I have to get to class," he murmured before he was gone. I swallowed. He sure was a strange boy. I sauntered to Science class and took my seat beside Hailey Garner, a shy girl at my former table who was usually ignored also.

"Hi," I said absentmindedly.

"How was your vacation?" she asked.

"Pretty good," I lied. It was tremendously boring, actually. "How about yours?"

"It was fine. How are things with you and the new guy?" she asked casually. Oh, God, she heard about it, too? I felt my heartbeat speed up as she waited patiently for me to answer. I tried to regain my composure and find my voice.

"How did you hear about it?" I asked calmly. I cringed internally as I awaited her answer.

"I was in the office getting my schedule changed and I saw you while I was waiting. Don't worry, I haven't told anyone," she explained. It was cruel of me to immediately assume that there was nobody for her to tell anyways.

I just nodded.

"So, what happened?" she asked, perching her fist under her jaw.

I drew a surprisingly shaky breath. "Nothing happened. I was just feeling his forehead because he was freezing cold. We're just friends," I explained, adding extra emphasis on my last sentence.

She didn't look even halfway convinced.

"Come on, Hailey," she taunted. "I saw you guys in Gym, remember?"

It had completely escaped my mind that Hailey was even in my Gym class, let alone observing me and Sebastian's behavior. Were Sebastian and I under a microscope with other students as well as Jodi and Hailey? The thought made me gulp. With the amount of thoughts crammed into my head today, I was surprised it hadn't exploded yet.

"Um, what do you mean?" I asked quietly as Mr. Bell began to pass out a stack of busy worksheets for us to fill in while he went and got coffee from the teachers' lounge. I wrote my name on my paper with my quivering hand.

"He watches over you, Brooke. It's like he wants to take care of you. And the way he sneaks up on you is the cutest thing I've ever seen. Honestly, he seems like the perfect guy for you," she gushed. I was pretty sure it would be rude to roll my eyes at her, but I desperately wanted to just so she could see how idiotic she sounded. How could somebody determine so much out of such simple gestures?

"Yeah, right. Sure," I laughed.

She shook her head, looking disappointed by my response, and turned to her paper. I did the same and finished my paper quickly, forcing myself to complete it purely for the distraction. The bell rang, and there was only one class left for me, which was my elective and also my favorite class: Pottery!

Pottery was always a fun way to finish off the day. Although I doubted today would be fun; facing detention after school and then my angry mother wouldn't exactly be a picnic.

I took my seat in pottery and put on an apron. Our teacher Mrs. Vendetta (brilliantly named, I must say) passed us large balls of clay and told us to make whatever we were "feeling". This was a normal day in Pottery class; you would have to create something truly horrifying to get any grade beside an "A". Mrs. Vendetta ordered us to behave before she excused herself to the bathroom, and I began to mold absentmindedly when I heard someone mockingly calling my name.

"Hey Brooke!" called Sophia Anderson, a blonde Senior who was never very nice to anyone. How did she even know my name?

I glanced up at her, waiting for her to continue.

"So I heard you and Sebastian were feeling each other up during second period!" she said loudly. Several of the heads that had ignored her previously turned to face me.

"You heard wrong," I retorted, focusing on my work for the first time today.

"I have a reliable source," she snapped.

"There's nothing going on with me and Sebastian. I guess your source isn't so reliable after all."

"Well, that's not what I heard," she said in a sing-song voice.

"What exactly did you hear?" I asked. I was perfectly aware that it was stupid to even get involved in her little game. But I couldn't help being curious. What was being said about us? And why did everybody suddenly care? I was beginning to wish that I had just stayed in bed in my pajamas all day.

"I heard that Sebastian was meeting you after school today to give you something," she said, raising her voice so everyone on Earth could hear.

"Who is this 'reliable source' of yours?" I demanded.

"What does it matter? It's true, isn't it?" she countered.

I knew it was a bad idea to lie, considering that I had no talent in doing so, but what can I say? I panicked. "It's not true."

"You're such a bad liar, Brooke. What are you trying to cover up?" she asked, her voice cold and taunting. White hot anger formed inside me and my blood boiled inside my veins.

"Shut _up_!" I shouted, breaking a handful of clay off my large blob and chucking it at her. It slammed into her chest with a loud thud and she shrieked. I expected her to recruit the Senior mafia group to come skin me alive, but instead she grabbed her entire blob of clay and heaved it at my head. I ducked just in time to watch it whiz past me.

I bounced up, delighted by my luck. "Ha ha!" I laughed. My giggling was cut short by a large blob of clay heaved at my chest and I coughed for a second. Ouch, that would definitely be an ugly bruise tomorrow morning. I wasn't sure who had thrown it at me, and it was pretty difficult to tell considering that the majority of the students in the class were now flinging globules of clay at each other, ending in quite painful results.

I ducked onto the floor and tried to crawl out the door, only to be caught by a furious-looking Mrs. Vendetta standing at the doorway.

"Have I mentioned that I _love_ your shoes?" I asked overenthusiastically. She glared down at me, and I could instantly tell that she was not amused. I stumbled to my feet and stood up, smiling sheepishly.

"Get to your seat, Dessen," she ordered.

I quickly complied, accidentally sitting on a mold of clay conveniently located on my chair. I jumped up instantly and groped at the excess clay embedded in my jeans and slammed a large fistful onto my desk. I still knew there was a lot of residue left behind, but I ignored it. I clenched my jaw when I heard Sophia giggling, and I instantly knew this was her doing. I turned to glower at her, but was interrupted by Mrs. Vendetta.

"Who threw the first ball of clay?" she demanded. I glanced quickly around the room to look at the damage and cringed. There was clay splattered over a bunch of the posters on the wall, the floor, her desk, bookshelves, cabinets, the sinks, and not to mention my butt.

"I did," I said quietly, raising my hand. I figured that if I confessed before Sophia could point her French manicured finger in my direction, I might be let off the hook, but after examining the damage in this room, I decided that the odds of that happening were slim to none.

"May I ask you what possessed you to vandalize my room?!" she demanded, suddenly becoming frantic.

I gulped. "I threw the first ball of clay at Sophia because I was bored," I lied. Might as well not get Sophia fully involved in this, no matter how vile she was and how much she deserved it. She would benefit too much from seeing me rat her out like a helpless baby.

"You were _bored_? Why don't I believe you, Brooke?" she asked, narrowing her eyes into little slits.

I shrugged.

"Tell me the real reason why," she commanded.

I shifted my eyesight to the table. "It was a misunderstanding concerning a rumor she heard about me," I finally said.

"Except it wasn't a rumor," Sophia muttered.

"Yes, it is!" I snapped.

"Like I said, I have a reliable source!" she shouted.

"Who? Who is so reliable that you have such blind faith in them?" I exploded.

"Myself!" she bellowed.

"Girls!" Mrs. Vendetta shouted. We both turned to face her, and I was exhaling heavily. I wanted very badly to chuck another blob of clay right in Sophia's nasty little face.

"If the both of you just _had _to destroy my room, then the both of you can spend the next forty-five minutes after school making it spotless," she said.

"I can't," I mumbled. "I have detention."

"Oh, really?" Sophia taunted. "Why is that, Brooke?"

The words "pure evil" floated into my mind. I slammed my fist on the table. "For skipping second period and having breakfast with Sebastian, okay?!" I shouted.

Half the classroom gasped. Since when do they care?

"Sophia, Brooke, go to the guidance counselor. Now," Mrs. Vendetta ordered. I stood up, gathered my backpack, and stormed out the door, trying to maintain whatever microscopic shred of dignity I had left. I had to admit, when you have clay spread all over your behind, there wasn't much in the way of dignity on your side.

I heard Sophia's footsteps behind me as she caught up to me.

"I saw you, you know," she said. "Outside with Sebastian."

"How is everybody conveniently watching me?" I demanded, more to myself than to her.

She shrugged. "Bad timing? I don't know, but I saw you two when I was up in the library."

"I only felt his forehead because he was freezing cold," I explained.

"Why didn't you just say that?" she demanded.

"I shouldn't have to!" I snapped. I slowly felt my anger drifting away; it was pointless to hold grudges. Besides, I wasn't any good at it. "I liked everything a whole lot better when I was just invisible," I muttered.

"You were never invisible," she said coldly. "Not to the guys, anyways."

I rolled my eyes. "What is this, 'Pep Talk Day'?"

"Whatever," she mumbled.

"Yeah, whatever." I decided to change the subject to avoid an awkward, angry silence. "I'm not going to the guidance counselor."

"Neither am I," she sneered.

"Now what? There's still twenty minutes of class time left," I pointed out.

"You might want to go wash that clay off your butt," she said.

I pursed my lips. "Nah, it's a good alibi for when I get home and have to face my mother's wrath."

She looked sympathetic for a split second. "Yeah."

We were silent now, but most of the anger had disappeared.

"I don't care if you want to date Sebastian," she said finally.

"I don't need permission," I muttered.

"Well, if you don't want the entire class of senior girls to murder you, you might want at least one girl's blessing," she retorted. "He's a nice guy. My mother is friends with his parents."

I nodded. "Sorry for hitting you with clay."

She laughed. "Sorry for letting you sit on it."

I giggled. "Yeah."

By the time we reached the classroom, the bell rang. Sophia raced to her locker and I began to do the same, except right when I turned to sprint away, I barreled into a certain someone.

"Whoa there," Sebastian said, steadying me with his hands.

"Thanks," I said, laughing nervously.

He scrutinized me, his smile growing wider every second. I wondered what he was staring at until I remembered our clay fight.

"Little accident?" he guessed, raising an eyebrow.

I giggled. "I guess you could say that."

He smiled in response, his eyes never leaving my face. "So I will see you in detention, then," he said.

"Um, actually, I have to spend the time cleaning up Mrs. Vendetta's room with Sophia," I explained, smiling shamefacedly.

He looked confused, and he cocked his head to the side.

"We kind of had a little clay fight," I added.

He laughed, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'll tell Mr. Krauss that you will serve your detention tomorrow," he promised. I heard my name being whispered in pathetic excuses of hushed tones from behind me, and I realized we were only standing a few feet away from the pottery classroom, which was full of spectators whose interest had been recently sparked by our presence.

A brilliant idea popped into my brain.

"Uh, so I guess I'll see you later, _honey_," I said loudly to Sebastian, who suddenly looked extremely puzzled, his brow knit in confusion.

"Play along," I hissed.

He immediately composed his face. "I'll see you later, love," he murmured, leaning in closer to me. It took me a second to realize what he was doing, and my breath caught in my lungs. He was definitely the most convincing actor I have ever seen. He pressed his lips against mine softly and I could feel my head spinning. It was over much too soon, and he smiled at me before he turned and swiftly walked away.

Reluctantly, I spun around to face my audience. The majority of the faces were frozen in such high degrees of awe that it was insulting. I found myself savoring the taste Sebastian left on my lips as I walked into the classroom. Sophia was already inside and had begun cleaning, so I quickly got to work. In a half-hour, the room was nearly spotless, so Mrs. Vendetta let us off the hook with a quick warning.

I headed to the sidewalk, making my way towards my beautiful Mazda 3, and passed by the Audi. I hesitated for a moment. Should I wait for him to get out of detention? I promised I would. I veered right suddenly to wait on a bench for him to be freed from detention. I fiddled with the straps on my backpack idly while fifteen minutes ticked by.

The bell rang again and I saw students begin to file out of the doors. I craned my neck to look for Sebastian, and when our eyes met, he smiled.

"Hey," I said.

"Hello." He looked like he was trying very hard to hold back laughter.

"Listen, about earlier--" I began uncomfortably, feeling the heat flood into my cheeks.

"It's okay, Brooke. Sophia caught me in the halls and told me," he said, laughing.

I let out a large sigh. "Good." Atleast that saves me from a load of embarrassment. "So what did you want to give me?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me.

He sighed. "This is hard for me, but I want you to have this," he said, digging into his pocket.

"Close your eyes and hold out your hand," he said softly. I obeyed and waited until I felt something cold in my palm. What he'd retrieved was a silver chain with a heart shaped locket pendant. I gasped as he placed it into my palm and enclosed my fingers around it.

"Sebastian, I--" I began, interrupted by his finger over my lips.

"You cheated," he whispered before he replaced his finger with his lips. They were so soft and he tasted _so good_, but my curiosity was more powerful than my aching heart. I pulled away.

"I want you to have it," he whispered.

"But, why?" I persisted.

"Open it, and you'll know why," he said vaguely. "It was my grandmother Collette's locket. My grandfather gave it to her."

I was speechless.

"I want you to have it," he went on, "because I trust you with it."

Miraculously, my voice reappeared. "With the locket?"

"No. Well, yes, that too, but I meant that I trust you with my secret," he said, stumbling over his words.

I nodded, still nearly unable to absorb it all. This was one of the only presents I had ever received from a boy, and the tiny box of conversation hearts that Jimmy Bynes had given me in fourth grade for Valentines Day couldn't hold a candle to fine jewelry.

"Should I tell you when I open it?" I asked weakly, still dazed.

"Call me," he said simply.

"I don't have your number," I reminded him.

He winked. "Check your windshield."

I just scrutinized him, feeling like there were even _more _questions than answers now, if that was even possible.

His laughter towards my absolute bewilderment was short. "Do you want a ride home?" he asked as we ambled off into the parking lot together.

I shook my head. "I don't think that's the best idea. My mother will assume you're impregnating me."

His eyes widened for a split second and he looked at the ground.

I giggled at his expression. "I'm kidding. She's at work, anyways."

He let out a relieved laugh.

"If you want to come over, that's fine," I said.

He nodded. "I will see you at your front doorstep."

"But you have to be gone by seven-thirty," I warned.

He saluted at me. "Yes, ma'am!"

And with that, he climbed behind his steering wheel and revved the engine playfully. I rolled my eyes and stalked towards the far end of the parking lot while I fingered the locket in my palm. It was beautiful. I don't understand why he thought I deserved to own it, though. On top of being gorgeous, it looked _expensive_. I sighed as I advanced on my car and squinted when I spotted a small square of paper positioned under my windshield wiper. I plucked it out and read Sebastian's phone number aloud. When did he find the time to leave it here?

I set the locket and Sebastian's number in the console of my car and backed out carefully, concentrating more on the road and less on my excitement to open the locket. What could possibly be in there? What kind of secret was he hiding? How on Earth did he even know where I lived? And why would my heart not stop pounding in my chest when he'd kissed me?

I pondered these questions as I drove home.

* * *

**How did you like that? I hope you enjoyed it. Like I've said before, it's been so much fun to write and whenever I come up with new ideas I just love to stay on the computer in my room for hours on end and just write like crazy. Still, I'm not very fast at it, and if I didn't have spellcheck I would be in deep doo-doo. Even though I love writing more than a ton of things on this planet (I even like it more than texting. Call me crazy) it would be nice to know that more than five people are reading it. Lol I know I sound hopelessly desperate, but if it gets ya'll to review, it's worth it. So PLEASE REVIEW!! Bye ;D**

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	3. Chapter 3: Locket

Chapter 3.

LOCKET

I pulled into my driveway, shocked to see that Sebastian was already sitting proudly on my front doorsteps. I glanced around myself, a little confused that there was the same number of cars in the driveway as there was this morning.

"Where's your car?" I asked through my open window.

"Down the street," he replied. "Oh, and by the way..."

I waited patiently, stuffing his phone number and the locket in my pocket.

"I won," he declared.

I slammed the door of my car and trudged past him on the front steps, determined to successfully unlock the door and and pretend that my heart didn't beat hyperactively at how staggeringly gorgeous he was, but his hand flashed out and grabbed my ankle. I immediately stumbled and fell forwards, but he somehow caught me in midair.

"I'm your hero," he said, grinning widely at me.

I glowered at him. "Hardly. You caused it in the first place," I grumbled. He set me down on my feet gently but kept one hand on my shoulder.

He shrugged, not repentant in the slightest. "I was merely trying to get your attention."

"Whatever," I muttered, swatting his hand away.

"Hey," he gripped my wrist with his frigid hand and spun me around to face him so swiftly I was breathless. Petulance was apparent deep in his golden eyes. We stood scowling at eachother in silence for a few seconds before he let go and I began to unlock the door, my hands trembling slightly due to his alluring eyes. I finally managed to get the door opened and let us both in.

"Nice house," he commented lightly, sounding distant.

"Thanks. You want anything to eat?" I asked, setting my keys down on the counter before I opened the refridgerator. I extracted a red apple from the fruit drawer and glanced at him while I raised the apple to my mouth and took a bite.

"I'm not hungry," he mumbled.

I slammed the fridge door. "Do you have an eating disorder?" I asked, shocked by my own boldness.

He glanced up at me with his eyebrows raised and his eyes wickedly amused. For some unfathomable reason, he looked as if he were restraining laughter. He didn't answer, though, and my anger kicked in for the second time today. I gripped my apple and hurled it at him with all my might.

He moved and caught it instantly before his laughter began. I groaned aloud and stormed out of the kitchen, leaving him to his snickering. He immediately sprung out of his chair, the apple still in his hand, and followed me.

"Brooke, come on," he said mockingly.

I whirled to face him with angry eyes and shifted my gaze to the apple expectantly.

He exhaled, abrupty exasperated, and looked at the ceiling for a second before he took a bite out of the apple. He slowly chewed and swallowed it, and I crossed my arms over my chest and waited.

"I took a bite!" he said defensively.

"Take another," I ordered.

Anger flitted across his face. "No," he snarled, tossing the apple into my hands gently and brushing past me, stunning me for a second. He smelled _amazing_. It was as if a cologne factory exploded on him, but it wasn't overpowering.

"Why?" I demanded to his back, ordering myself to focus again on his total lack of appetite and not his scintillating fragrance. He stopped in place and turned his head just a fraction to glare in my direction.

"Why not?" he countered.

"Take another bite!" I shouted, heaving the apple at his back, assuming that his reflexes wouldn't kick in soon enough.

"No!" he roared, miraculously whirling around in time to catch it in his palm. I sighed, shaking my head, and began to walk back towards the kitchen. I plopped down into a stool and massaged my temples with my fingertips, trying desperately to ignore the hand that suddenly appeared on my shoulder.

"Brooke," Sebastian began, his tone gentle.

"Don't," I said firmly.

He swallowed, and it became painfully silent. I glanced up at him and an unfathomable expression was visible on my face. I waited until the noiseless atmosphere became unbearable to open my mouth.

"Say something," I said.

"Like what?" he asked, leaning against the refridgerator, still annoyed.

I shrugged. "I don't know. Why did you give me a locket?"

He laughed humorlessly. "There's more to the locket than just its beauty."

"What does that mean?" I asked, completely lost.

"What do you think it means?" he countered.

That threw me for a second."Um, it means you're being exceptionally vague and anything you say just adds to the massive pile of questions accumulating in my brain."

He laughed. "How many questions?"

"I lost count," I replied dryly.

"Come on, let's see if I can answer your questions," he baited. I raised my eyebrows, questioning his intentions. The genuinely interested expression on his face was a helpful clue to me that he was serious.

I exhaled. "How did you hear me insult you this morning?"

He snickered, then said, "It wasn't hard. You were very angry."

"Yes, I was," I began, "but you were already down the street and turning the corner."

"I have good hearing." He looked at the ground and his jaw tightened. "Next question."

I straightened and pursed my lips, but I dropped the subject. "Why did you call me beautiful this morning?" I hoped I wasn't blushing. My voice was a dead giveaway to my nervousness, since it was shaky like my heartbeat.

Sebastian decided to answer my question with one of his own. "Brooke, has anyone ever called you beautiful before?"

I contemplated that. "No boy, anyways."

"What a shame," he murmured to himself. "You don't believe me, do you?"

I stiffened, but I didn't answer.

"Brooke, you _are_ beautiful," he whispered.

I refused to meet his gaze. "Why do you do that?"

He was confused. "Do what?"

"Why are you so blatantly honest that I can't help but believe you?" I mumbled, looking down at my shoes. I wondered if he could hear past my awkwardness. For some reason, it sounded like he was actually being truthful, but I was more stuck on the fact that he'd actually said it out loud again.

"Because I'm not lying," he replied.

My hair fell over my eyes, but his fingertips gently brushed it behind my ear. It took only now to realize that he had been advancing towards me, and I glanced up, finding myself lost in his gorgeous eyes. His hand lingered beside my face, his fingertips trailing on my cheek lightly, and it was silent.

"What's your next question?" he asked gently, placing his hand back down at his side.

I pressed my lips together, organizing my thoughts after them being scattered everywhere during his intense gaze. I took a deep breath and tried to form a question.

"Why did you think I hated you?" I asked finally.

His eyes dimmed. "I'm not sure. But generally when somebody tries to avoid me, it's not a sign pointing towards friendship."

"Friendship," I repeated, the word strangely confusing me.

"What?" he asked, his eyes on me.

"We're friends now," I said. The way it came out, it wasn't a question.

He looked uneasy. "If that's what you want."

"That's..." I paused. Was that what I wanted? Did I want to consider him as a brother or did I want to kiss him with reckless abandon? Did I even have the slightest idea of what I wanted? Despite my better judgement, I nodded again. "That's what I want."

He straightened. "Do you mind if I ask a question?"

Hesitantly, I shook my head. "Go ahead."

"Why did you feel like leaving school during second period?" he asked.

I sighed. "Have you ever felt like...like something is just going to happen, and there will be nothing you can do about it? Like you can't escape the inevitable?"

He studied me pensively. "Yes."

"That's how it felt this morning. I can't really explain it, but--"

"Then let me," he said, cutting me off. "It was inevitable meeting you. It was inevitable staying away from you. It's inevitable to feel the way I do about you. So stop running away from it."

While he spoke, he came closer and closer to me. I felt numb, and I literally couldn't feel anything besides my heart pounding wildly in my chest. What exactly did he mean when he said "feel the way I do"? I wasn't positive of what my face was displaying while my insides melted.

And here I go again, crushing a wonderful moment with my two left feet that had somehow found a way to become lodged in my mouth.

"Um," I mumbled, breaking his gaze. "Homework?" I suggested stupidly. It was almost as if I could hear it in his mind: _Someone get this girl a therapist!_

He stepped away from me and scratched the back of his head uneasily. I've lost count of how many times my mouth has caused either an awkward or embarrassing moment today. Maybe instead of considering Marine Biology as my major, I should choose Psychology so I could dissect and examine my own stupid behavior. What have I done that was so awful that karma is desperate to make me look like a hopeless moron?

Silently, we headed to my living room and sat around the coffee table. I laid my books out on the glass table centered between the leather U-shaped sofa in the light, airy living room my mother so frequently obsessed over. I stared at the paper Mr. Bell had assigned us without actually seeing it, and I fiddled with the pen in my hand absentmindedly.

I dared to glance over at Sebastian, but it seemed as if he was done with his homework already, and he was writing something in a college-ruled spiral notebook laying on the coffee table before him.

"What's that?" I blurted.

He glanced up, his eyes guarded. "Nothing. Just notes."

"Oh," I mumbled, turning back to my own work, but finding myself unable to concentrate. Why did it seem like he was so engrossed in what was simply notes? I tried to flush the thoughts out of my mind and focus on my own work instead of being nosy. And suspicious. And so desperately curious to find out what he could possibly be writing in that notebook--

"What are you doing?" Sebastian's voice pulled me back into reality.

"Huh?" I asked, blinking numerous times to revive them from being stunned yet again by Sebastian's unfaltering perfection.

"You have ink on your face," he pointed out.

"What?" I asked absentmindedly, placing my fingers on my face and rubbing subconciously. Sebastian was watching, looking amused, but there was still wariness deep in the golden enigma that was his eyes.

"Other side," he added, smiling slightly. Well, I'm glad my idiocy is providing him entertainent.

I shifted my fingers to my opposite cheek and rubbed violently, but I figured it was to no avail due to the annoying fact that Sebastian's smile grew wider the more I rubbed.

"What?" I demanded, my irritation-tolerance level diminishing ever-so-quickly.

He chuckled. "Nothing, nothing."

I groaned and got to my feet quickly, stormed up the stairs, and crossed through my bedroom into my bathroom. I grimaced at my reflection and turned the faucet on. I must have spread the ink further on my skin in my furious attempt to clear it away, since there were streaks trailed all over my cheek.

"It's really not that bad," came Sebastian's voice from the doorway, causing my to jump a foot in the air and shriek.

"Don't do that!" I shouted, reflexively hurling a bar of soap at his head. He caught it and laughed.

"You're very violent today, aren't you?" He set it back down on the counter. I rolled my eyes and leaned down to wash my face. Sebastian's figure patiently stayed near mine as I rinsed, and he handed me a towel when I was done.

"How chivalrous of you," I commented sarcastically.

"Why thank you," he said mockingly, copying my tone. He tossed the towel back where he'd found it as I brushed past him and out the door, and I was suddenly mortified that he'd had to cross through my room to get in there. I couldn't even remember the last time I'd cleaned my room. There were clothes scattered everywhere across the perimeter, almost as if a department store threw up.

"Sorry," I muttered as Sebastian quickly took in his surroundings.

"No, I like it," he said. I eyed him skeptically, but he added, "It's very real."

Okay, so "real" wasn't anything close to the terms my mother had used whenever she assessed my room's current state. I suppose "real" came as a shock compared to "disgusting", "uninhabitable", "vile", "filthy", and my personal favorite: "pig sty".

I gently shoved Sebastian out of my room and he made his way downstairs. I joined him around the coffee table again, but his notebook had disappeared. There was only a single sheet of paper on the table, and it looked to be a Physics worksheet.

"Where's your notes?" I asked unthinkingly.

"In my bag," he replied simply in a conversation-ending tone.

"Oh." I tried to keep my eyes glued to the paper on the coffee table, despite my suspicions that Sebastian was watching me. I didn't have the gall to look up. When I was sure that his eyes were going to burn holes through me, I finally glanced up and met his gaze.

"May I help you?" I asked.

"I think it would be a better idea if _I_ helped _you_," he said, his gaze shifting momentarily to the paper in front of me.

Stubbornness was always a redeeming quality in me. "I don't need help," I muttered.

"Really?" he asked, his voice mocking. He reached over towards me and plucked the sheet of paper out of my reach. "I didn't know you were a type of marsupial."

"Huh?" I demanded.

"You wrote your name on every blank, Brooke," he pointed out, smiling proudly at me as he placed it back down on the coffee table.

"Shut up," I muttered. I retrieved a bottle of White Out from my bag and shook it vigorously, ignoring snickers he poorly disguised as coughs.

Silence fell between us as I tended to my stupid mistakes.

"So what's bothering you?" he asked, breaking the silence. He seemed to be waiting intently for my answer. I glanced up at him, judging in my mind if he was serious, and then sighed when it seemed as if he was honestly interested.

"Nothing's on my mind," I lied.

He rolled his eyes. "Wow. I'm convinced now."

I let out a laugh. "It's nothing."

He shrugged. "I'm sure you're being vague for a reason."

"Does it matter?" I asked.

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?" he countered.

I sighed again. "Fine. I'll tell you, but it will come with a price," I warned.

"Name it," he said simply, unafraid of my request. He pushed off of my coffee table with his hands and leaned casually on my couch.

"Tell me what's in the notebook," I bargained. I noticed when his jaw tightened and he stiffened just a fraction, and it looked as if he was pouring some effort into keeping a sly smile on his face.

"I'll tell you on one condition," he offered.

I hesitated, wary of what it could be. "That depends. What's the condition?"

"You have to keep pretending that we're dating at school," he replied coolly. He smirked when my jaw dropped in disbelief.

"Why would I do that?" I demanded.

His eyes narrowed as he studied me. "Is that a 'no'?"

"No, no!" I said hurriedly. I was desperate to find out the truth behind the "notes" he was wielding, and if pretending to be the girlfriend of the most handsome boy I had ever met was the price to pay, it wasn't exactly a decision worth mulling over.

"I'll do it," I sighed.

He laughed. "You don't exactly seem that excited."

I composed a perfectly joyful mask. "I'll do it!" I cheered, pouring on the cheerfulness just a tad thick.

"They're lyrics," he finally said.

I dropped the charade. "What?"

"The 'notes'. They're lyrics," he explained.

"Oh," I repeated, this time a little shocked. "You're a singer?"

He looked unsure. "Not a good one, anyways."

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?" I asked, throwing his own words and tone back at him. He smirked for a second, but he didn't move.

"So that's how you're an artist?" I scoffed. "That's not much of a mystery."

He shook his head, laughing at my scornfulness. "No, there's more."

"Of course there is," I muttered. "So are you going to show me?"

"Show you what?" he asked, blinking.

I groaned good-naturedly. "Your artistry!"

"Nope. I'll let you figure that out on your own. So what's on your mind?" he asked, agilely distracting me.

"I was thinking about...everything," I explained, sighing. I watched as he stood up and ventured around the coffee table, plopping down beside me.

"What's everything?" he asked, curious eyes studying me, readily waiting for my answer.

"Everything that happened today. This has been the most painfully exciting day in the history of Forks," I admitted.

He laughed. "You're welcome."

I rolled my eyes. "That wasn't necessarily a 'thank you'."

A mischievous glint sparkled in his eye, and I studied him carefully. "What are you thinking?" I asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," he replied, looking at his hands innocently. A little _too_ innocently to be true. A sly grin slowly spread across his face.

"Does your sudden unconvincing innocence have anything to do with having to pretend like we're dating?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him suspiciously.

"Maybe," he said in a sing-song tone.

"Can I ask you something?" I reached in my pocket for the locket. His eyes were wary and reluctant, but as soon as the locket came into view, he straightened.

"You just did," he commented lightly.

I glowered at him playfully. "Another thing!"

"Go ahead," he laughed.

Abruptly the mood changed. "Why me for the locket?"

He pursed his lips. "Why not you?"

I let myself fall backwards and rested my head back on the cushion ot the couch. "Are you purposely being vague and mysterious to up your sexiness level?" I blurted in my exasperation.

His fingers lightly stroked my hair, which was fanned across the cushion. "I have a sexiness level?"

I groaned, then felt my face heat up. "Maybe."

He chuckled. "Good to know."

"Back to the subject," I said slowly, deflating his rapidly expanding ego. "You never answered my question. You just gave me another."

"I guess that's the point, huh? There's so many more questions and not enough answers," he murmured, and it seemed to me like he was talking to himself more than he was addressing me. Suddenly his eyes met mine, and they weren't sparkling with the same impish excitement that they'd possessed before; in fact, their sudden intensity scared me.

"What's wrong?" I asked gently.

"I can't say it, Brooke," he said, slowly shaking his head. "It's too dangerous. But you have to know, there is an important answer in the locket. I know I'm not really making sense right now, but please, get the locket open as soon as you can. I'm dying to know what you think."

I opened my mouth to undoubtedly ask another burning question, but he stopped me.

"I know you're still wondering why I chose you. And to be honest, I'm not sure why. But I've been waiting for someone who I can trust with my secret, and I trust you, Brooke," he explained, saying my name so reverently that I was speechless.

"Sebastian," I said softly, unable to get the rest out.

"Yes?" he answered, his tone wary. He seemed on edge, as if what he'd said had cast him as vulnerable in my eyes.

"What kind of secret is this?" I asked, afraid to hear the answer.

He sighed. "A big one."

"I don't get it. Did you kill somebody?" I guessed.

"No, Brooke," he replied breathlessly, his tone thoroughly convincing.

Okay, next question. "Did someone get hurt?"

He looked unsure. "Yes."

"Did you hurt them?" I asked, fervently hoping it wasn't true.

"No," he answered.

I sighed in relief. "Okay, when did this happen?"

"A while ago," he replied, and it seemed his guard was up for a reason.

"How long?" I pressed.

"Years ago," he muttered, still too unclear to satisfy me.

I groaned quietly. "Are my questions annoying you?"

"Yes and no. I'm just afraid of what you'll think."

"I promise you I won't be mad at you," I said, gently placing my hand on his. He looked uncomfortable, so I retreated it back to my side.

"You don't know the secret yet," he murmured.

I shook my head. "No, I don't. But I want to. I want to help you."

"Try it now," he suggested, his eyes pleading.

"Try what now?" I asked gently, confused by his desperation.

"The locket," he clarified. "Try opening it now."

I complied, trying to wrench it open with my fingers. I was exceptionally weak, though, so I glanced up at him for reassurance. He strangely looked like he was going to be sick.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

He swallowed and nodded unconvincingly.

I tried once again to open the beautiful pendant in a futile attempt. It was almost as if someone had welded it shut in an attempt to keep a secret lodged in there. One more fleeting glance at Sebastian confirmed my suspicions that he was going to be sick.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I demanded, setting the locket down on the coffee table hurriedly, just catching a quick glimpse of him before he stood and bolted up the stairs. I followed close behind, though I couldn't match his speedy pace by a mile. I climbed the stairs and rushed through my room and into the bathroom, just making it in time to watch Sebastian empty his stomach into the toilet.

I winced as he coughed and wiped his mouth. I didn't know exactly what to say, however.

"Are you alright?" I asked, gently placing my hand on his shoulder.

"I'm fine," he muttered, flushing the toilet.

Realization hit me like a punch in the face. "It was the apple!"

His eyes appraised me with a confused look in them.

"You took a bite of the apple earlier. You really are bulimic or something, aren't you?" I asked.

"No, I'm not, Brooke," he said, bumping into me lightly as he glided past me and out the bathroom. It seemed like my presumption had offended him.

I stared at his quickly distancing back in baffled disbelief. "Don't get mad at me, it was just a guess."

He froze in place, and turned his head towards me just enough so his eyes could glare coldly at me. Through clenched teeth he said, "I'm not."

"I wasn't trying to be mean or anything. How else do you explain somebody who gets sick after taking one bite of an apple?" I snapped.

"That's clearly irrelevent!" he said.

His reply confused me. What was that supposed to mean? He truly considered the fact that he couldn't stomach one bite of an apple as irrelevent?

"What are you trying to hide?" I asked suddenly, seeing right through him.

He straightened. "Nothing."

"You're lying," I accused, my voice low.

His eyes were mocking, but nothing else escaped his lips.

"You squint when you lie," I pointed out, triumphant of my observant achievement. I crossed my arms and waited for his explanation, but was slightly disappointed when I didn't receive one.

He rolled his eyes dramatically. "This is ridiculous!" He exclaimed, turning on his heel and disappearing from the doorway of my bathroom so swiftly I thought he'd teleported.

"Hey!" I shouted, following him as fast as I could.

I tried not to gape as I watch him descend down the stairs in a blur. How on Earth was anybody so fast? I had stopped to scrutinize his breathtaking speed, but became bemused when I noticed he was gathering his belongings. I rushed down the stairs and nearly tripped over the couch, but I steadied myself on my coffee table. Before it slipped my mind, I snatched the locket and gently tucked it into my pocket.

"Where are you going?" I demanded.

His hand was just touching the doorknob when he turned to face me. "Away from here," he replied bitingly.

"I can see that," I said acidly. "Why is that?"

"I don't need a reason," he mumbled, yanking the doorknob. "Call me when you get the locket open." With those last words, he swung the door and stepped out, making his way down my driveway.

I sighed in exasperation. Me and my big mouth. He was already halfway into the street when I shouted, "Wait!"

I rushed to meet him in the road, and he watched me with guarded eyes.

"Why are you leaving?" I asked.

"I told you," he said.

I sighed. "I didn't mean what I said. Atleast, I didn't mean to offend you. Why are you taking it so personally?"

His eyes appraised me as if I were speaking a foreign language. "I'm not offended," he muttered.

I threw my hands down at my sides angrily. "Then what did I say?"

"Nothing," he said.

"Nothing?" I repeated dubiously. "Your eyes are squinting!"

He groaned. "This conversation is going nowhere."

His face was hard like stone before his body turned and he rapidly gained twenty feet of space between us. Without thinking, I plunged my hand deep into my pocket and retrieved the locket, registering all my strength to throw it down the street at his unsuspecting figure. He obviously wasn't expecting me to throw it, though, because after it bounced off his back, he turned to face me. An unfathomable expression was displayed on his face, and I could almost make it out as anguish before he crouched down and lifted the locket off the ground in his fingers.

It was only a few seconds before his figure was only inches away from me.

"I gave this to you. I want you to have it," he said firmly, holding his hand out to me.

"No thank you," I said, pushing his hand back towards him.

"Brooke--"

"Save your breath. I guess I'm not ready for your secret," I muttered, making my way back towards my driveway. His pale, icy hand flashed out and gripped my wrist almost painfully.

I winced. "Let go!"

He loosened his grip on me, but his hand remained clasped around my wrist. His eyes were blazing and deadly, and his expression was clearly livid.

"Take it," he ordered.

"No," I said. My unflagging valor never ceased to amaze me. Any sane human would already have surrendered with their tail between their legs. I, however, stood my ground and glared back at him with equal force. He placed the locket in my palm and enclosed my fingers around it before he turned on his heel and walked away.

"I'll swallow it," I threatened.

He faced me with a furious expression on his face. "You wouldn't."

"Watch me!" I shouted, shoving the locket into my mouth. It clanged noisily against my teeth, and I suddenly remembered that it had just been on the floor. Despite my disgust, it remained inside my mouth, balanced on my tongue. He was breathing heavily through his nose, and he rocked back on his heels and then closed the space between us with three large strides.

He was latched onto me, his fingers digging into my arms, and he crushed his lips against mine. I flinched back in shock at the pressure he was applying with his lips, and suddenly his tongue was in my mouth. I didn't have the gall to swallow the locket, but I suddenly wanted to when I remembered that his only motive for kissing me was to retrieve the locket.

His lips remained on mine for an immeasurable amount of time, and I could feel myself getting lightheaded due to a lack of oxygen. I tried to pry his mouth off mine or shove him away with my hands, but he didn't budge an inch.

Finally, when he pulled away, he took the chain of the locket with him in his teeth. Gently, he tugged it out of my mouth and dropped it into his palm.

I tried to maintain an enraged expression on my face while I coughed and gasped for air. "What is the matter with you?" I demanded.

"You almost swallowed a locket and you're wondering what's wrong with _me_?" he asked incredulously. Right about now, I wanted to toss that forsaken locket over a high ledge, but he probably would have murdered me.

"I told you I didn't want it," I hissed.

"Well, I'm telling you that you're going to keep it whether you want it or not!" he snapped. Right as I witnessed him reaching his arm back, I figured the results would not be pretty. He flicked his wrist and the locket flew through the air, towards my house. I didn't expect it to come anywhere near the exterior of the house, considering we were already fifty feet away from the driveway, but he somehow managed to get it close enough for it to crash loudly through the glass of my bedroom window.

My jaw tumbled open and my eyes were wide with disbelief. "That did not just happen."

Silence from Sebastian's end.

His lack of a response converted my incredulity into fury. "I'll kill you!" I suddenly shrieked, gripping his collar with my fingers. He flinched back from my abrupt violence and it took every cell in my body not to strangle him on the spot.

"How could you do this to me?!" I demanded.

"I'm sorry, Brooke. Really," he said quietly.

"Sorry isn't going to cut the mustard. I'm going to be planning your funeral in about two seconds!" I roared, jabbing my finger in his chest.

He kept his eyes on the ground.

"Come with me," I ordered, grabbing his wrist and dragging him back inside. He followed behind me quietly as we crossed through the living room, up the stairs, and finally into my room. The locket left a small hole in the window and only a small amount of glass sprinkled over my carpet.

I groaned at the sight.

"I'm really sorry, Brooke," Sebastian said.

"Yeah, whatever," I grumbled, gathering all clothes surrounding the accident in my hands, throwing them into my laundry basket.

"Do you want any help?" he asked.

I whirled to face him. "No. Go wait downstairs. I'll be done in a minute."

"I'm sorry," he repeated, his eyes pained.

"I know," I mumbled, watching as he turned reluctantly and disappeared. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair as I examined the damage again. It really wasn't as bad as I was making it, but I still didn't want to forgive him just yet. I had the glass vacuumed up quickly and I resisted the urge to suck the locket in with the rest of the shards. Instead, I gathered it in my hand before I headed downstairs, walking in on an anxious Sebastian who was waiting on a kitchen stool. I watched him, quietly tiptoeing up to him. He glanced up as soon as I set the locket down in front of him on the counter.

"I told you to keep it," he said quietly. He turned around fully to face me and waited for my response.

I sighed. "I can't keep it."

"Why not?" His expression was sullen.

"I think you made a mistake. I'm not the right person for it," I muttered, shrugging.

"Shouldn't that be my decision?" he asked, cradling the locket in his palm. If I were him, I would have washed it, but he seemed indifferent to it.

I blinked. "Um, I don't know. Isn't the fact that I don't want it enough?"

"You don't want to know my secret?" he demanded.

"No," I fibbed, glancing around and swallowing.

"Liar," he accused, leaning backwards onto the counter and studying me with narrowed eyes.

"Like you said, this conversation is going nowhere!" I snapped.

He rolled his eyes and asked, "Do I look like I was born yesterday?"

I stared at him for a second, sidetracked. "Um, no."

He slid off the edge of the stool. "Exactly. And I know you're dying to know my secret," he said, breezing past me in a second. I began to follow him, but he turned swiftly and his face was only inches from mine. "Just like I'm dying to tell you."

It was silent for a moment and I held my breath. I barely noticed what he was doing until he had finished tucking the locket into my pocket, chuckling before disappearing into the living room. I exhaled and pursued after him onto the couch.

"Now what?" I sighed.

He shrugged. "Have all of your burning questions been answered?"

I scowled at him, not amused. "No."

"Ask away," he said, leaning back onto the armrest nonchalantly.

"How did you sneak up on me without Mr. Krauss noticing?" I asked.

"I guarantee you will laugh," he said, sighing, "but you're very light on your feet when you used to be a ballet dancer."

I blinked and contemplated what he'd just said, and finally it sunk in. He watched me patiently until it hit me--ballet?! I burst into fits of giggles and he rolled his eyes.

"You're a ballet dancer?" I managed through laughter.

"Laugh all you want. It was only for a few years," he muttered.

I struggled to compose myself. "I'm sorry. I'm done."

"I don't mind. Chace found it hilarious when he found out," he added.

I hugged my knees to my chest and watched him attentively. "He didn't know?"

"My mother wanted to keep it a secret from my siblings in case they teased me about it," he explained. "But Chace followed me after school one time and I never heard the end of it. I really didn't have a problem with it until then."

"Will I ever get to see you dance?" I asked hopefully.

He laughed as if the thought was ludicrous. "Nope."

I groaned, slightly crushed. "Why not?"

"Too embarrassing. Unless you have something equally humiliating to show me in return..." his voice trailed off expectantly.

"I took gymnastics as a little girl in Tampa. And when I was twelve I went through the volleyball phase," I offered.

He shook his head, mockingly disappointed. "Come on, that's not embarassing enough," he scoffed.

I glowered at him. "Well that's all I've got."

He shifted closer to me on the couch. "There's nothing else? No other thing you can remember that you're ashamed of in the least bit?" he asked, his tone taunting.

I gulped. Okay, there was _one_ more thing. But I found it so completely embarrassing that the mere mentioning of it within these walls was forbidden.

"Nope, that's all I've got," I lied.

He laughed. "You're a liar!"

"Shut up!" I yelled, cuffing him on the shoulder.

"Come on, you can tell me," he said softly, making his tone more gentle despite the humor deep in his golden eyes. I waited and weighed my options in my mind. If I told him, he would mock me for a little while and I would get a glimpse of his dancing in return. If I kept it a secret, he would bug me for all eternity until I finally caved. Option one seemed more sensible.

"Fine, I was Girl Scout," I muttered.

He held in his laughter for a few seconds until it finally brimmed over. "You mean you used to wear a little beret and badges while you sold cookies door-to-door?" he asked, snickering.

"Hey, atleast I didn't parade around in a tutu!" I retorted.

His laughter stopped short. "Touché."

I finally let out a laugh, although it took some effort. "So I guess we both have embarrassing pasts."

He nodded. "Yes, and now I guess I will have to show you my dancing?" he asked, looking uneasy.

"Not right now," I laughed. "But is _that_ how you're an artist?"

He chuckled and shook his head at me. "You just won't give up on that, will you?"

I threw my fists down on the couch cushion. "I wanna know already!" I whined.

"You'll see eventually," he muttered. "How can I prove you were a Girl Scout?"

I groaned. "You want me to sell you an overpriced box of nasty cookies?"

He laughed loudly. "No thank you. I remember I used to have a crush on the Girl Scout who visited my house in New Hampshire."

I rolled my eyes. "Wow. That's nice."

"Don't be jealous," he scolded in a mockingly reproving tone.

"Shut up, I'm not jealous," I grumbled. "I had a crush on my neighbor Michael back in Tampa."

He didn't say anything; he simply kept his eyes on the coffee table.

"Don't be jealous," I said, using his words on him.

He turned and glowered at me. Our gazes remained on eachother for a few minutes before I heard a car alarm beeping outside. Sebastian straightened, and I turned to the source of the sound for a moment. I whirled to face Sebastian.

"Was that you?" I asked him.

He shook his head, still alarmed. "No, I told you. My car is down the street," he replied.

I glanced at the clock; 7:42.

"Holy crap, you've got to leave, now! My mother's home!" I shouted, shoving him off the couch and up the stairs. I heard my mother's key turning in the doorknob and I exhaled in relief. Hopefully he could get out in time. I felt thoroughly relaxed for a split second until I noticed Sebastian's backpack leaning against the couch.

I frantically snatched it before I scrambled up the stairs to look for him.

"Sebastian!" I hissed. "Your backpack!"

"In here!" he yelled. I followed the sound of his voice into my bathroom and witnessed him with one leg already out the window, straddling it.

"Are you insane?" I demanded, handing him his bag.

He slung it over his shoulder. "Nope. I'm escaping," he replied.

I sighed. "Well, hurry up, my mom's opening the door."

He nodded and swung his other leg out. "Wait, Brooke! Come here!" he suddenly called. I turned and rushed to the window, afraid he would slip and fall.

"What's wrong?" I whispered.

He reached over swiftly and pressed his lips against mine. They remained there for a swift second before he pulled away, grinning at me.

"Goodbye," he murmured, and then he was gone.

I sighed. "Bye," I muttered to nobody. I headed down the stairs, where my mother was waiting in the living room by the coffee table.

"Hi, mom," I said lightly.

"Hey, sweetie," she murmured, setting down her purse. "How was school?"

I hesitated for a moment. "It was inteteresting."

"Oh, really?" she asked, and I knew she was about to begin. "Because I got a call from your teacher telling me that you received detention for skipping class with a _boy_."

I grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, and since I got into a clay fight in Pottery class, I have to stay behind and serve detention tomorrow instead of today."

She looked outraged. "You were in a fight?"

"Nobody got hurt!" I explained.

"That doesn't make it any better. Who was this boy you skipped with?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at me.

I sighed. "His name is Sebastian LeBlanc and we just had breakfast together."

"LeBlanc..." she said thoughtfully. "I think I know a LeBlanc...Yes! Lily LeBlanc, she's the lawyer who represented the stabbing victim! I remember that. I've seen her around with her children, two boys and a girl, they're all very beautiful children..."

"Mom!" I interrupted.

"Hmm?" she asked, lost in thought.

"Are you going to punish me or can I go to my room?" I asked, eager to fiddle with the locket some more. The way he'd built it up made it impossible not to care.

"Your punishment depends on one question: Are you and the LeBlanc boy dating?" she asked.

I sighed. "Conditionally."

She was thrown for a second at my strange choice of words. "What does that mean?"

"Well, at school, he was the reason I got into the clay fight. Now that everyone knows we went to breakfast, they think we're dating. So we're just pretending like we're dating, but in actuality, we're just friends," I explained. Even to myself, that didn't make much sense.

"Teenagers," she muttered.

I rolled my eyes. "Seriously, we're not dating."

She laughed. "Fine. Serve your detention. And for your punishment, you have to make dinner tonight and tomorrow."

"Oh, the horror!" I exclaimed mockingly.

"Quiet, you, unless you want a bigger punishment," she threatened.

I quietly got to work on dinner; tossing a salad and making a homemade chicken noodle soup. My mother passed through the kitchen occaisonally and commented on how good it smelled, but I shooed her away in case she wanted a taste. A few minutes later, it was ready to serve.

"It's done, mom!" I called, pouring half in each bowl. We sat around the small dinner table and ate, but it wasn't just the sounds of utensils clinking that entailed this dinner.

"So, this Sebastian boy..." she began.

I waited for the lecture to come.

"He's very handsome."

I laughed, "I can't argue with you there."

"Do you like him, Brooke?" she asked, shocking me.

I cleared my throat. "Um, we're friends."

"I know, Brooke," she said. "I'm asking if you like him."

I kept my eyes on my soup and stirred. "A little."

She nodded just like a mother would. "Does he like you?"

I shrugged, since I've been asking the same question myself. "I'm not sure."

"Honey, I know I'm just your mother and my love life didn't go exactly as well as I'd hoped, but I think he comes from a good family and he's a good boy. Give him a chance."

I groaned. "Mom, I know you mean well, but I really don't think he likes me like that."

She didn't look convinced. Not one bit. "Whose idea was it to pretend like you're dating?" she asked quietly while she stirred her soup.

"Well, it started when I called him 'honey' after school in front of everyone in Pottery class, and then he said we should keep pretending, but he didn't tell me why," I explained.

"Honey, I may be wrong," she began, "but I think the reason why he wants to keep pretending is because he doesn't want to pretend."

"Huh?" I asked, immediately confused.

"I meant that he wants to pretend like he's dating you because he really wants to date you," she explained, her face completely solemn.

"I-I don't know," I stammered, suddenly uneasy.

"Just see how it goes. And I'll do the dishes, you can go do your homework," she said.

A foolish sense of honesty overpowered my sense of self-preservation, and I began to dig my own grave.

"Mom, I think my punishment needs to be bigger," I declared.

"Why?" Her eyebrows were pulled together in confusion, and her forehead was creased.

"Sebastian came over after school," I mumbled.

She just nodded, and I figured she would explode at any moment.

"Well, that confirms it," she said, smacking the table with her palm, causing me to jump in my chair.

"Confirms what?" I asked, shocked that I hadn't been grounded yet.

Her eyes twinkled. "You _do_ like him."

"What?" I demanded. "Why haven't you punished me yet?"

She smiled warmly at me. "Because I'm proud of your honesty. Even if it is a tad late. I saw a page of his homework on the coffee table, Brooke."

I let out a huge breath, remembering that Physics paper. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I was waiting for you to admit it on your own time," she said, shrugging.

"Who are you and what have you done with my mother?" I asked quietly. My mother had never tried the nonchalant parenting style before, and it was very refreshing, no matter how strange.

She laughed. "I figure that you're almost eighteen and you can make your own decisions. But it's nice to know I still have my little girl who's an awful liar."

I rolled my eyes. "Gee, thanks, mom."

"I love you, honey, but it's so true. You were sweating bullets when I came in," she explained. If I had any hope of surviving in this world, I would really need to practice lying convincingly.

The rest of dinner consisted of slurping soup and small talk, and I set my dishes in the sink. I began to bolt up the stairs, shocked that I'd successfully avoided any interrogations about the broken window, until she halted me.

"Oh, Brooke!" she called. I froze in place and awaited my doom. "What happened to your bedroom window?"

My mother's eyes missed nothing.

I sighed. "It was an accident, mom. Please don't murder Sebastian, but he kind of...threw something at the window and it broke," I explained shamefacedly.

Suddenly she laughed, easing the tension. "Oh, Brooke," she sighed.

"You're not mad?" I asked, shocked that she hadn't skinned me alive yet.

She shook her head. "No, it will probably be a pain to fix, but atleast now that's an excuse to replace the rest of the windows, too."

"Mom?" I asked hesitantly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she insisted. "Why do you ask?"

"On any other day, if I had messed up as much as I did today, you would have murdered me already. What happened today while you were at work?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at her suspiciously.

She sighed. "You are definetely my daughter. Very observant. Sit down, honey."

I was terrified of what this could possibly be if she asked me to sit down first. I noticed she was wringing her hands around a dishtowel.

"You know that your father is dating right now, so this shouldn't come as too much of a shock, dear. But just in case, please don't be mad. I met a man at the grocery store a week ago, and we're going on a date tomorrow night," she explained, her knuckles white from gripping the towel so tightly.

"Okay, Mom. First: release!" I ordered, gesturing to the towel she was twisting. She loosened her grip and waited anxiously. "And mom, I'm not mad. Not even a little bit. If Dad deserves a second chance at love, so should you. I'm glad you found someone."

She exhaled heavily and hugged me. "Oh, thank you, sweetie! I'm so glad you don't mind! Do you mind being home alone tomorrow night or would you like to invite one of your friends over?"

"Um, I don't mind," I said, shrugging.

She nudged my shoulder. "How about Sebastian?" she suggested, raising her eyebrows.

"Mom!" I shouted, embarrassed at her bold suggestion.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," she said. "Just let me know."

"I will," I muttered, heading up the stairs. I shut the door softly behind me and collapsed onto my bed, flicking the lamp on with my finger. I dug the locket out of my pocket and laid it on my comforter. It sparkled underneath the light and I sighed. I still didn't understand why he'd picked me for his secret. He'd mentioned somebody got hurt. What was that supposed to mean?

I attempted to pry open the microscopic latch with my fingers but found it impossible. My hands were far too shaky to accomplish anything. I tiptoed downstairs and into the garage. I snuck to the cabinets, finding a pair of pliers after a five-minute time lapse. I returned to my room with the pliers in my hand and I engrossed myself in the locket. I tinkered with it using my fingers for another few minutes before I gave up and resorted to the pliers.

"Come on, you stupid little locket," I snarled under my breath, my fingers aching from the pressure I had been applying in my hopeless effort. I lined up the pliers with the latch and squeezed with my palm as hard as I could when suddenly I heard a snap.

I was sure it was a bone that had just snapped in my hand, except the pain hadn't hit me yet. I rubbed my palm with my left hand and glanced down onto the bed, gasping at the locket's current state. It was lying open on my bed, and I scrambled to lift it with my fingers.

I held it up to my eyes so I could read the tiny print on the heart-shaped paper inside. I found myself hyperventilating as I read Sebastian's secret--

I'M DEAD

* * *

**Whew, that was a long chapter. Geez, that was 20 pages on Microsoft Works!! I got a little carried away, hehe. And if I keep talking, it might be 21. Anyways, to all my readers out there who are fans of Solstice, I'm really sorry that the sequel isn't up yet. I have one good idea, but I'm having a little trouble so just bear with me! Anyways, if you liked this chapter, hated it, or are just reading this due to boredom, please leave me a review. You get a pretty picture of William Moseley if you do! :D (I've said this before and I'll say it again--HE IS A GORGEOUS BOY!!) Oh, and please please PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE review if you favorite/subscribe/alert me!! I love having reviews :) **


	4. Chapter 4: Invader

Chapter 4:

INVADER

I was frozen in place, my heart pounding wildly in my chest, my eyes wide with shock. Paralyzed by fear, the locket tumbled out of my hands and onto my covers. The sudden motion was enough to snap me back into a moving reality, and I scrambled for my phone and the slip of paper with Sebastian's number.

Then it hit me, and I paused. This had to be a joke. Feigning death? That wasn't exactly something that required any other action than therapy. I dialed his number despite my doubts.

After multiple rings, it went to voicemail.

"Sebastian, pick up your _phone_!" I hissed. "It's Brooke. I got the locket open. Call me back."

I groaned and collapsed onto my bed.

After waiting for five minutes to pass by, I called again and left another message. Then another. And another.

On the fifth try, he finally picked up.

"Is there a reason why you keep calling?" he asked, sounding annoyed.

"Didn't you listen to my messages?" I demanded.

"Yes," he replied acidly.

"I need to talk to you," I said urgently.

I heard a sharp exhale from his end. "We are talking."

"I meant face-to-face, Sebastian! Do I sound like I'm kidding?" I asked, exasperated.

"No," he sighed. "You want me to come over?"

"Sure. I'll be in my room," I said, snapping my phone shut. I leaned back onto my pillow and waited, my eyelids drooping shortly after my head hit the pillow. I fell asleep to the sound of my breathing and the soothing silence. My peaceful slumber was interrupted by a familiar hushed voice.

"Brooke, wake up," Sebastian said softly.

My eyes fluttered open and I sat up so fast my head spun. "Huh?"

"You were asleep when I got here," he said.

"Sorry," I muttered groggily, rubbing my eyes. "Does my mom know you're here?"

"No, I snuck in through your bathroom window," he explained.

I nodded and gestured towards the locket, which had somehow been moved to my nightstand. "Why did you lie to me?"

His brow knit in confusion. "What?"

"'I'm dead'?" I clarified. "You're just having fun, aren't you?"

He was taken aback, and he looked like I'd just slapped him. "You think I'm joking?" he asked in shocked disbelief.

"You're not dead! People can see you and touch you!" I snapped.

"You want me to prove it to you?" he asked lividly.

"Prove what?" I demanded.

His hands lashed out towards me and I flinched away from him, but he gripped my arms and pulled me towards him despite my attempts to yank away.

"What are you doing?" I asked fiercely.

"Listen," he murmured, placing my ear against his chest.

I heard nothing. Absolutely nothing. At first it seemed pointless to have my head against his torso and hear nothing, but then I remembered; I should be hearing a faint heartbeat. I felt numb as I pulled away and studied him.

"Where is your heartbeat?" My voice was trembling.

"Dead people don't have a heartbeat," he explained, watching me warily. His eyes were conflicted, like telling me was a massive risk he was taking.

I tried to focus on breathing in and out evenly. "Why are you telling me this?" I asked quietly.

"I felt like you needed to know."

In my confusion, my voice sounded harsher than I'd intended. _"Why?"_

He sighed. "Remember what we said earlier, about inevitability?"

Hesitantly, I nodded.

"I felt like I _had_ to tell you. Like I didn't really have a choice, but at the same time, I _wanted_ to tell you," he explained, his eyes enigmatic.

"Why?" I repeated, my voice softer.

He shrugged. "I just did. I don't understand it either."

Silence fell between us in the darkness, but my mind was filled to the brim with loud thoughts. There was a painful throb pulsing in my head, and I rubbed my temples with my fingers. Any chance of having a peaceful night would have to include Sebastian's absence.

"Thanks for coming," I said conclusively.

He blinked, looking bewildered. "Just like that, all of your questions are answered?"

"I'm just really tired," I mumbled. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"What happened to the obsessively curious girl I met a few hours ago?" he asked, his eyes displaying deep concern.

"Very funny," I said, "but it's really late and you should leave before my mom finds you."

"Brooke, just let me explain," he persisted.

"Good night!" I said, sharper than I'd wanted to. His face was anxious as I gathered my comforter in my hands and rolled onto my side, yanking it over me. Half of me hoped that he would ignore my orders and insist that I seal my lips shut and listen while he explained, no matter how much my stubborn mouth insisted that I wasn't interested. And the other half, that was just barely awake, was yearning that I simply close my eyes and return to a land of dreamless, peaceful sleep.

He sighed forlornly, and I gritted my teeth and tried to focus on sleep. His weight shifted off the mattress, and total silence filled the room. Less relief came to me than I'd expected, but I squeezed my eyes shut and lulled myself to sleep, where I found myself in a strange dream.

I glanced around me, surprised by the total darkness, my eyes desperately searching for some light. It was a hopeless effort. I was surrounded by pitch blackness, and I couldn't even see myself. I began to feel around blindly with my hands, disheartened when there was nothing. Just empty space.

I didn't give up, though, and I nearly had a heart attack when my hands came across something solid...and humanlike. I tried to stifle a gasp and failed. Instead, a high squeak escaped my lips.

Suddenly the room was filled with light and I blinked numerous times. I turned towards where I had stumbled across that figure, shocked when there was nothing. Now thoroughly terrified, I began to step backwards, trying to find the source of the light.

"Hello?" I called, my voice depicting how scared I was.

"I was hoping you'd come," came an unruffled, stony voice near my ear. I shrieked, reflex reaction, and whirled to face the person behind me.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded, a fierce volume suddenly audible in my voice. I wasn't scared of him, and he knew it.

He smiled. "You wouldn't listen to me, so I came to visit."

"You've got to be kidding me. I'm dreaming," I said, laughing, although somehow it was hard not to believe him.

The way he waited patiently for my denial to come to an end was strangely enlightening; he wasn't joking. He actually invaded my dreams so he could get his point across.

"This is insane," I said, sinking onto the floor, hugging my knees to my chest. I stiffened when he sat across from me, a determined expression visible on his gorgeous face.

"Just listen," he pleaded. "You can't avoid me here."

"Yes I can," I objected. "I can wake up."

"Okay, try it," he said smugly, as if there was a hidden factor I was missing.

I blinked. "What is that supposed to mean?"

He shrugged, that same look still occupying his beautiful features. "Nothing. All I said was to try it."

"Fine," I muttered, not convinced. As I tried to wake myself up, Sebastian's smile grew wider on his face, and I eventually gave up.

"Why aren't I waking up?"

He chuckled. "As if it isn't already obvious how much control I have over this dream?"

"Fine, if you're not going to let me wake up, you obviously have something important to tell me," I grumbled.

"It's a long story, so you'll be here for a while," he warned.

I shrugged. "It's better than staying up all night while you explain in person. At least I'm getting sleep during my torture."

He wasn't amused. "Trust me, this isn't torture. Now can I explain, or would you like to sidetrack me some more?"

I rolled my eyes. "By all means, go on."

"Thank you. Just so you know in advance, my family and I are not young. My mother Lily was born in London in 1924, and she was born into an upper class family that wanted her to marry a nice man who treated her well, and whom she loved, no matter what his income was. In her first year of high school, she met Peter, and they fell in love. They dated all through school, and married shortly after their graduation. They were very happy together. On the same day that my mother was going to announce that she was pregnant with Chace, Peter announced that he was leaving to serve in the war. That day in March of 1943 was the last time that my mother ever saw Peter.

"At the time, she was too scared to tell him, so she let him leave, completely unaware that he was now a father. She waited for him to return, hoping and praying that he would serve for only a short period of time and return home, for her and the baby's sake. She gave birth to Chace in November and raised him, praying every night after she put him to bed for two years that she would hear good news about her husband, to be able to tell her son that his father would be coming home unharmed.

"Unfortunately, what she heard was very bad news. When she got the news of his death, she broke down, only living for Chace's sake. She decided that she needed to leave England and go to America, because the memories were too painful. So the pair of them left everything behind and moved to America. She and Chace settled in Dover, New Hampshire. "My father Giovanni was born in 1929 in Dover. He was born into a struggling middle class family, and was the oldest of five sons. His father, my grandfather George, was handicapped after a construction accident, and insisted that Giovanni drop out of school in order to support the family. My grandmother Collette didn't approve of this decision, but she went along with George anyways. Reluctantly, Giovanni followed orders and dropped out, while Collette had an idea that she would home-school him against her husband's knowledge.

"Giovanni and Collette's secret lasted for years, until he turned eighteen in 1947, and decided that he would finish high school the same time as everyone else. For the next year and a half, Giovanni simply helped raise his siblings and aided his parents in the family construction business. One afternoon, Giovanni was fixing a roof in town and came across a young woman named Jolene.

"She was beautiful, smart, and strong. They fell deeply in love, and he proposed to her after a dare from her older brother Noah, who became Giovanni's best friend. She informed him that she had been considering attending Dartmouth after being offered a full scholarship, but he saw no problem in going to college and being engaged.

"Only there was a problem. On top of college, a month after their engagement, Jolene discovered she was pregnant. She decided to return to college once their baby had been raised, but she never got that far.

"During the birth, the doctors discovered that she was bleeding unhealthily too much. Giovanni begged and prayed to God that she would live. The only good news the doctor could deliver was that the baby would live. Jolene's last wish was that their baby girl be named Anneleise, and then she closed her eyes and her hand went limp around Giovanni's.

"He broke down. He never really recovered after losing her, and although my mother's influence on him really aided in his healing, we can all still tell that he misses her a lot more than he likes to admit. Sometimes we see that thoughtful, distant look in his eyes when he sees Anneleise, and we all know what it means. She's the spitting image of her mother, so he says."

I nodded. "That's a sad story."

"It's not done yet," he muttered.

"Sorry," I mumbled, gesturing for him to continue.

"Would you rather I told you this some other time?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Here is fine."

"I can always come tomorrow night, and the next night, and the night after that..." his voice trailed off and he glanced up at me.

"By the way, when are you going to get around to explaining how you can do that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He laughed. "Have I mentioned it's a very long story?"

"Please continue," I said.

He nodded. "Like I said before, my mother and father met in Dover. It was one year after Giovanni's loss, and five years after Lily's. In the local park, Chace and Anneleise met in the sandbox and bonded instantly. My parents said it was the cutest thing how gentle Chace was with her, and how he protected her. The two of them eventually ended up playing matchmaker for my equally depressed parents. Chace and Anneleise were elated that their parents had their losses in common to fuel a relationship. It was a year later when my father finally got past the pain of losing Jolene long enough to focus on the new love he'd found in Lily.

"She was shocked when he proposed, but she didn't hesitate to say yes, and, purely by my father's choice, they were married a week after his proposal. They both had children already, but Chace and Anneleise were especially demanding for a new baby in the family. Anneleise wanted a baby sister to play dress-up with, and Chace dreamed of having a little brother to wrestle with for hours on end.

"My birth was actually planned, and despite Giovanni's worries, I was born a healthy baby boy on October 27th, 1951. I have lost count of how many times my parents have told me how happy Chace was when he found out my gender. Apparently, he was dancing around in the waiting room, rubbing it in a sulky Anneleise's face that he had a new brother. It goes without saying that Noah was not doing the best job enforcing discipline on them while they waited, but he was trying.

"My childhood is full of plenty embarrassing memories that my mother would be glad to tell you about, but I will kindly leave those out," he said smoothly, grinning at me.

I pouted. "You're trapping me in a perpetual dreamland while you explain your family's painfully long past and I can't even get _one_ embarrassing moment?"

"That's right," he said.

"That's unfair. Spill your guts," I sulked.

He rolled his eyes theatrically. "You already know I was a ballet dancer, for Pete's sake! What more do I have to do, wear a tutu?"

"Would you?" I countered.

He wasn't amused. "It's not like we had digital cameras back when I was a kid. I don't have pictures of my childhood coming out of my ears like children of this generation do."

"I know," I muttered, then I batted my eyelashes at him. "One embarrassing memory? Please?"

He sighed. "Fine. Anneleise used to apply all of my mother's makeup on me and then blamed it on Chace while I cried my eyes out and it all ran down my face. Happy?"

I giggled. "That's so cute."

He rolled his eyes again. "Can I continue, or does the idea of me wearing lipstick sound more appealing to you?"

I pursed my lips. "I'm going to have to stick with the latter."

He groaned.

"I'm kidding!" I laughed. "Go on, I'm listening."

He exhaled. "Chace and I got along instantly. We wrestled in the living room, climbed basically anything we could find, and we ran through the woods together. The three of us all went to Garrison Elementary school together, or 'the Joint'," he laughed.

"We usually dumped Anneleise with her girl friends, and we would play around with the large group of neighbors we had. Time flew by while we spent the day in school and the nights in the woods.

"I was eighteen, and it was a regular afternoon in the woods with Chace. We were just goofing off, hiding from each other, and I came across this small house in the middle of the woods. Curiosity got the better of me, and I went in to explore. I had no idea at the time that I wasn't alone in the house. I was looking around when a man in his late forties tackled me and pinned me to the ground. I tried to fight him off, but he had caught me off guard and the odds of the situation turning out well were slim to none.

"The man and his wife weren't exactly sane people, and when they found a trespasser in their secluded home, they weren't happy, to say the least. While the man held me down, his wife injected my arm with something that stung and burned like crazy. I was screaming and kicking, but somehow the woman had more and more injections to give me. It turns out she had been a nurse, but the hospital fired her when they found out she had killed her mother-in-law during a surgery."

I gulped, and my eyes widened in horror.

He laughed suddenly. "Are you okay?"

"How can you be laughing?" I demanded. "These people were torturing you!"

He shrugged, but his face became abruptly serious. "I must have been screaming awfully loud, because Chace eventually found me. The man left me unattended, figuring that the agony would paralyze me temporarily, and he tried to wrestle Chace to the ground. Chace had never been weak, and he threw the man off and rescued me. I was writhing in agony, screaming at the top of my lungs the entire way home and at the hospital.

"The doctors declared me dead, but one doctor, Doctor Solomon, assured my family that there was one solution, but it was a huge sacrifice," he stopped then, his eyes focused on the ground.

"What was the sacrifice?" I whispered.

"Dr. Solomon could save my life, but the rest of my family had to die," he murmured.

"What?" I gasped.

"Dr. Solomon wasn't human, Brooke. Neither am I, or any of my family," he explained.

I took a moment to let his last statements sink in, but suddenly it felt too late. Everything seemed to be disappearing from underneath me, and I glanced fleetingly at Sebastian.

"What's happening?" I asked frantically, hearing my voice echo.

"You're waking up," he replied.

"B-but I thought I couldn't wake up here," I stuttered.

He smirked. "You're being woken up by someone else. That's the only other way out."

"Wait--what about the rest of the story?" I asked.

He just grinned, and then I opened my eyes to the familiar setting of my room, and the concerned face of my mother.

"Jesus, Brooke, I tried waking you up half an hour ago and you were almost dead. How long did you stay up last night?" she asked, flicking my light switch on.

I blinked multiple times as my eyes adjusted to the light. "Um, I don't remember," I said groggily.

"Well, get ready for school, you've got half an hour," she muttered, shutting the door behind her. I waited to hear her quiet footsteps down the stairs to gather my clothes and head into the shower. The steam did little to calm my jittery, impatient nerves, and I finished quickly due to anxiety.

I knotted my hair in a bun and dressed quickly, determined to make it to school on time for a good parking spot and a full explanation. I focused on applying my makeup for a few minutes and then stumbled down the stairs, snatching a piece of toast and a granola bar that my mother had left on the counter for me as I headed out to the driveway.

"Thanks, ma!" I called with my mouth full.

"Oh, Brooke, you have someone--" she began, cut off by the slam of the door behind me. I sauntered down the driveway towards my car and began to choke on my toast when a shrill honk blasted from a familiar black Audi parked conveniently behind my car.

I was coughing violently, trying to dislodge the mouthful of toast lodged in my windpipe, and tears were coming to my eyes.

"Are you okay?" Sebastian asked, stepping out of his car and rushing to my side.

"Fantastic," I choked out. "Why are you here?"

"I didn't get a chance to finish the story, so I thought a ride to school would be a nice time to explain," he explained, rubbing my back soothingly as my coughing slowed.

"Thanks," I mumbled as I climbed into the passenger seat.

He got in beside me and backed out of the driveway, slowly making his way down the street before the story resumed.

"Just to warn you, that day wasn't fun. I was dying. And if Dr. Solomon hadn't come along when he did and trusted my family with his secret, I wouldn't be sitting next to you right now. I would currently be occupying a wooden coffin deep in the ground all the way in New Hampshire," he explained, his voice bleak.

I swallowed a lump in my throat. "I understand."

"No, you don't. I'm sorry, but you don't understand it at all. I'm not human, Brooke, I haven't been since 1969," he snapped.

His abrupt petulance confused me. "Why are you so upset? I'm sorry if my mere human wisdom is disappointing to you, but it's not my fault that you had a painful past."

He sighed, looking down at his lap. "I know."

"What's wrong?" I asked gently. "Is there more?" The burning curiosity in my voice was hardly disguised, but I ignored my stupidity for once. I placed my hand on his shoulder comfortingly as I awaited his answer.

"Yes, there's more," he murmured. "I just don't know you will take it."

I waited. "You can tell me."

Just then, he pulled into the school parking lot, but his jaw remained tight and he didn't answer me. I exhaled as I gathered my backpack and my granola bar and exited the car. He, of course, noticed when I shut the door with excessive force.

"Don't be mad, I'll tell you eventually," he assured, walking with me into North building.

I watched him dubiously. "Tonight in my dreams?" I guessed.

"That depends on whenever I can get you alone today," he replied.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, and before I forgot, I said, "Here's your homework, by the way." I reached into my bag and handed him the Physics paper he had forgotten on my coffee table.

"Oh, thanks." He folded it in his hands. "Did your mother find it?"

I blinked, not remembering telling him about that. "Yes, she did."

"Good," he said, grinning at me.

"You left it there intentionally?" I demanded, wanting to smack him. I clenched my fists at my sides in order to keep them from wrapping around his throat.

He chuckled. "I didn't expect _you_ to tell her."

"Well, I did, thank you very much," I said indignantly as we stopped by my locker and I worked the locket. Once I had the door open, I faced him and glared at him.

His eyes were amused as they waited for my anger to subside. I sighed and focused on switching my books out for first period Science. He kissed my forehead before he left for his next class that I was too dazed to remember the name of. I stumbled to my seat in Science, aware of the concerned eyes belonging to Hailey that followed me all the way until I plopped down onto my chair.

"Psst, Brooke!" Hailey hissed.

Unwillingly, I turned to face her. "Yeah?"

"I heard about you and Sebastian," she whispered.

I stifled a groan. "What did you hear?"

"You're dating now?" she asked, looking excited.

Oh, that. "Yes," I replied, smiling fakely.

Surprisingly, she bought it. "Well, that's good."

I nodded and then faced the front of the room. Mr. Bell collected our homework and the period passed by monotonously.

* * *

I dragged my feet to Physical Fitness once English had passed by with nothing to report. I was fully aware, and extremely unhappy, that we would be starting co-ed volleyball. In the past when I'd been obsessed with volleyball, I would practice day in and day out, and miserably warmed the bench while my classmates dominated the court. I wasn't bad, I just wasn't phenomenal enough to play. And once I had that epiphany, I moved on.

I changed quickly in the locker room and chased after Jodi while she raced around the track during our warm-up jog.

"Jodi, slow down!" I called breathlessly.

She didn't even so much as look my way.

"Jodi!" I whined, pushing myself to catch up with her stubborn pace. Once I had caught up with her and was desperately trying to match her pace, she finally glanced at me.

"What is wrong with you?" I demanded. The harshness of my tone was tremendously overpowered by my wheezing.

"When were you planning on telling me?" she asked icily.

"Telling you what?" I asked, out of breath.

"I thought we were best friends, Brooke," she continued.

I threw my hands down at my sides in exasperation. "What are you talking about?"

"You and Sebastian are dating and you don't even have the decency to tell me?" she snapped.

I sighed, though it didn't hold much of a difference compared to my heavy breathing. "You want to know the truth?"

"No, a lie would be _perfect_!" she exclaimed, the sarcasm dripping in her voice.

"Well, if it pleases you, then maybe you'd like to know that everything between Sebastian and me is a lie! People just starting believing it so now we're just pretending. Are you happy now?"

Her face softened in what was the complete opposite of happiness. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"It all happened so fast," I explained, finding that was the most accurate explanation as soon as it had escaped my lips.

We slowed to a walk after Coach Riddell blew the whistle. Jodi and I stalked off to the gym, giggling as we raked over every detail that happened yesterday. I skillfully left out everything about Sebastian's secret and my discovery inside the locket, hoping she would simply accept Sebastian's generous gift without any suspicion.

Right on cue, Sebastian came into view behind Jodi, and he smiled at her politely. She was capable of taking a hint, so she slipped away and scampered off towards Tobin and his group of friends. I found myself watching her until the inescapable nagging of Sebastian's patient stare directed towards me became unbearable.

I faced him, smiling sheepishly. His next action shocked me to say the least. He hugged me quickly, and then paused and held his lips at my ear. "You told her?" he whispered.

I pulled away, a guilty expression on my face. "Maybe."

He groaned. "Please don't tell anyone else."

"Fine," I muttered. To change the subject, I said, "I guess you're my partner for volleyball."

"Who said?" he laughed.

"Please? It's the only way I could possibly enjoy this torture," I begged, batting my eyes at him. He ignored my pathetic efforts.

"I thought you liked volleyball," he pointed out.

I chuckled. "I used to. Then I got a brain."

He studied me pensively, and I waited for him to say something.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I finally asked.

He blinked. "What?"

"Nothing," I said dismissively. "So will you please be my partner?"

He sighed theatrically. "I guess you will have to do."

"Ha ha," I muttered. "Does being partners in an awful volleyball drill constitute as alone time?" I asked suddenly.

He blinked, then became pensive. "I guess so."

"So then you can continue with your story...?" My voice trailed off expectantly.

"Brooke, not here," he said gently. "Too many people."

I pouted, and then gestured towards the secluded corner at the far end of the gym. "What if we go to that corner all the way over there?"

"The 'haunted corner'? Are you serious?" he asked skeptically. Every body knew that corner of the gym to be "the haunted corner" because supposedly, every ball that ever rolls into that corner gets destroyed. Superstitions were never my thing.

"That's awfully hypocritical of a dead guy to mock a haunted area," I scoffed.

He rolled his eyes. "As you wish."

"So you'll tell me?" I asked giddily, surprised that I'd gotten my way.

"As long as the ghosts of the haunted corner don't eat you alive," he muttered under his breath. I glowered at him, and he had the nerve to smile. I retrieved a volleyball out of the basket and we sauntered to the corner of the gym that was avoided like it was oozing with leprosy.

The rules to this volleyball drill, which was Coach Riddell's all-time favorite, were simple. Keep the ball up, no matter what. If another person's ball comes your way and you hit it, the ball's owner and their partner is out. Once the ball hits the floor, you and your partner are out.

Now there's one simple reason why this is Coach Riddell's favorite volleyball exercise: both it and she are brutal.

I twirled the ball in my fingers and sighed, preparing to concentrate on keeping the ball up. Coach loved to mock all those who were disqualified, and it was usually very humiliating. The woman really abuses the power, but hey, who's complaining?

Sebastian opened his mouth to begin explaining, but I quickly halted him.

"Sebastian, can it wait?" I asked hurriedly, right before Coach blew her whistle, signaling the beginning of this awful drill. I tossed the ball to Sebastian's waiting arms. "I know I was practically holding a gun up to your head earlier to get answers, but right now I really want to concentrate."

He gently bumped it back. "Sure," he muttered.

"I guess we're stuck in the haunted corner for no reason now," I mumbled, hitting it back. It flew too high in the air, but Sebastian easily salvaged it.

"You know, I'm capable of multitasking," he pointed out.

"That's...nice," I muttered sarcastically, bumping the ball again.

He chuckled. "I meant that I can manage playing volleyball and storytelling at the same time." _Bump._

"Oh," I said dumbly. _Bump._

"Try to contain your enthusiasm," he teased. _Bump._

I glowered at him playfully for a moment before my focus returned to the quickly approaching volleyball. I gently tapped it back to him. There was no trace of joking in my voice when I said, "You know I want to know."

He nodded. "Actually, I do." _Bump._

"I'm just trying to concentrate on not losing this drill. That's all. Coach Riddell always teases the losers, and it's really embarrassing. She's like the female version of Gordon Ramsey from _Hell's Kitchen_," I explained, shuddering. I rushed to hit the ball before it touched the floor, sending it flying too far left from Sebastian.

He raised his eyebrows, quickly returning the ball to me . "Really?"

"Have you not noticed that she's completely unhinged?" I asked, laughing dryly as the ball bounced off my forearms again.

He laughed loudly. "No, I haven't. She's been fighting with her husband lately. That's why she's so...edgy." _Bump._

I eyed him suspiciously. "How do you know that?" _Bump._

He blinked as if he'd just realized a mistake he'd made. "Wild guess?" he guessed unconvincingly, suddenly pouring extra concentration into hitting the ball than before.

"Stop lying," I said, seeing right through his poorly disguised faç ade. I bumped it back carelessly, still watching him.

He sighed. "I just want you to understand that I'm being serious, and I'm not trying to lie to you." _Bump._

I nodded impatiently. "I know." _Bump._

"Being inhuman like me also entails...powers," he said cautiously.

"Powers, as in...?" I pressed.

"I know what you see and think. I can read eyes," he admitted, his eyes on me even while he hit the ball in my direction.

I froze. "What?" I gasped. The ball flew towards me and grazed my hip before tumbling to the floor. My muscles were locked in place and my eyes were wide with shock. Meanwhile Sebastian was studying my face warily, waiting for my full reaction.

"I can read eyes," he repeated, his voice husky.

I blinked, looking down at the ground and then at my shaking hands. I could hear Coach Riddell's distant voice ordering us to come sit down, but I was near hyperventilation and couldn't move.

"Brooke?" Sebastian asked anxiously.

"Just...give me...a minute," I managed. All this time, I had found security in the privacy of my own mind, and it turned out that he'd been invading that, too.

He aided me as I hobbled along beside him towards the losers' circle. I felt completely numb as I sat down, and he was still studying my face with alarmed concern.

"Please stop staring at me," I said finally after a prolonged silence.

His eyebrows pulled together in confusion. "Why?"

"How do I know you're not reading my mind right now?" I whispered.

His expression became fierce. "I read _eyes,_ and to be completely honest, I try to ignore it, because I think it's rude to invade people's privacy."

"That's why you were staring at me outside the gym, wasn't it? When I caught you staring, you were reading my eyes! You say it's rude, and yet you see my mind as suitable of invading?" I demanded, proud of my discovery.

"That was different," he said defensively, his eyes cold.

"Different how?" I snapped.

His lips pressed together into a hard line. "I don't have to explain why. This is exactly the reaction I expected from you. I knew you were going to overreact."

"Overreact?" I repeated incredulously. "First, you invade my dreams after I tell you to go away. Then, you invade my mind. Was there a reason behind your probing?"

His eyes narrowed into slits as he scrutinized me. "You wouldn't listen. I had to explain to you somehow."

"Explain what? Your inability to mind your own business?" I demanded.

He scowled. "I don't know why I thought I could trust you with this. I was obviously wrong. Forget I said anything," he snarled, getting to his feet in less than a second. I stood up swiftly, too. He started to walk away, but I stopped him.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, gripping his arm.

He yanked away from my grasp and quickened his pace, crossing to the other side of the gym. I exhaled, and then took a seat next to Hailey. What had my big mouth caused now?

I feared that Sebastian's story would go unfinished now.

* * *

Hey, readers! I would just like to apologize for the extremely late update. I was on vacation in New Hampshire & Massachusetts from the 15th to the 21st, and every day besides that, I have been suffering from major writer's block. For the past couple of days, I have been staying up until like 2:30-4:00 in the morning writing my tail off. Sebastian's story took an awfully long time to contemplate and then explain, and then once it was all written, I had to narrow it down a little. My last update was 21 pages, and I am proud to say that this one is 14!! (with all I'm writing, it will soon be fifteen, though) I got (I think) 2 reviews about how long the update was. One reviewer said "Oh my Carlisle" in her review, and I started laughing for like 10 minutes straight.

****

While I have a chance to do some quality blabbing, I just want to say how much of an awesome experience driving up Mt. Washington was, and all of New Hampshire in general. My dad was actually born in Dover, New Hampshire (and he went to the Garrison "Joint", which I thought would be hilarious to say XD) so I have some New Hampshire based ideas for this story now after that awesome experience. We will be going up again next year. I visited my little second cousins Gregory and Sarah in New Hampshire, and they are adorable 5-year-old twins that I love to pieces. We had a family reunion thingy in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, which was pretty fun, and I also got to see my other second cousins Anna, 6, who is a gorgeous little girl; Luke, who is 3 and was so hilarious; and the month-old twins Michael (Spongebob, lol) and Patrick (like Patrick Star from Spongebob, Luke called them that) and I got to hold them both, too. Those four are all from the same family and hanging out with them was really fun. We did a lot of cool stuff up there, and it was my first plane ride ever. And, a major plus, New England had a ton of really gorgeous men! There was this one really cute blonde guy in this liquor store that my parents and my aunt dragged me and my sister to, and we almost bumped into eachother. I had a total Bella moment, and I was blushing when we both said "Sorry" to eachother. LOL I'm such a dork, but whatever.

I took a buttload of pictures from the mountains, including the view from this awesome Wal-Mart in Gorham, New Hampshire that had this awesome view of the mountains, and I also took pictures from the Kancamangus highway and the summit of Mt. Washington. It was so cool. We also went kayaking, which was pretty cool, and brings me to my next topic...

I am going into 9th grade this August, and I'm pretty excited (and also pretty scared, but that's not the point). I have been considering doing Swimming, but my parents and my sister don't think I will make the team because I'm not a phenomenal swimmer, and apparently there is lots of competition, even though everyone currently on the swim team says that you can suck and still make the team. They would all rather I do Cross Country, because my mom is convinced that I'm such a good runner (the fact that my sister also did cross country for 2 years had _nothing_ to do with it either...NOT) and she doesn't want to have drive me to this ghetto-ass school for their pool since my damn school doesn't have a swimming pool. I suck at running (my last mile time was 9:43, not exactly champion material) and I don't really enjoy doing one mile, let alone three and a half, even though one of the captains next year will be really hot (lol, I have a one track mind, if you havent noticed!) I also have asthma, and I wheeze after one mile, so I'm afraid that three and a half will really kill my breathing, and also make me really tired when I come home. So I haven't decided. After my kayaking experience, my dad thinks doing Crew would be a good choice for me, and crew is both a fall and spring sport, and also, my 2 best friends are planning on doing crew, too. The problem with Cross Country and Swimming is that they are both fall sports, and I can't do both at the same time. If I don't make swimming (WHICH I REALLY WANNA DO!) then I might do cross country, but it will take a buttload of training and I will most likely get last place every. I know this was WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too long, but does anybody have any suggestions? I'm a wee bit conflicted. I don't have to decide yet, but either way, I need to get training (by running for both swimming and cross country, and practicing swimming laps in my pool at home).

If anybody read that, you must really like me or be really bored, lol. But if you could please leave me a review about the story or anything I just said, I would really appreciate it. ;D And if you could check out any of my other stories, I just updated Robbed and posted the Solstice sequel. (I promise you'll love the name! XD)

Holy crap, I wrote A LOT.

Thanks for reading, and I love you guys lots!

-legallyxbrunette, Lauren


	5. Chapter 5: Evasion

Chapter 5:

EVASION

To say the least, I felt guilty for exploding at Sebastian. I mean, discovering that my far-fetched suspicions weren't so far-fetched after all was definitely a shock, but snapping at him for what he couldn't prevent was harsh, and I very well knew it.

To be fair, he couldn't control reading eyes. But invading dreams must have involved a choice.

I focused more on the fact that everything I'd ever thought around him had been accessible to him. I cringed internally at my accursed female hormones for controlling my thoughts about him. He'd known all along that I was convinced that daydreaming about him had caused me to fail that pop quiz, and yet, he enjoyed watching me squirm when he'd forced me to confess.

And he'd also known the answer to every question he'd asked me, simply by gazing into my eyes. No wonder his penetrating gaze was so intimidating to me, because somehow, in the back of my mind, I knew there was more to his gorgeous liquid gold eyes than just their beauty. They were literally penetrating the barrier that was my mind.

I shuddered.

Why did he even bother talking to me if he knew everything beforehand? We could have had an entire conversation without me even opening my mouth.

As soon as I had sat down beside Hailey, she sensed my distress. Her forehead creased in concern.

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," I mumbled.

She wasn't convinced, but her gaze flickered behind me. I turned and was a little disappointed when it wasn't Sebastian performing his routine, sudden appearances.

In his place was a fuming Jodi, storming towards us with her long blonde ponytail bobbing up and down between every step. Following her was a very confused Tobin. She plopped down in between Hailey and me with an angry huff, and Tobin stood behind her, scratching his head uneasily.

"What happened?" I asked, distracted from my current worries.

She turned to face Tobin behind her, glaring violently, and then pointed to him. "_This one _over here hit our ball across the entire gym, and there were less than ten groups left!" she answered.

"It was an accident!" Tobin cried.

"Good_bye_!" she snarled.

Tobin quickly shuffled away, mumbling a "goodbye" under his breath.

Jodi simply rolled her eyes.

"Is somebody's least favorite aunt visiting?" I asked teasingly.

Her death-ray glare shot towards me. "Bite me, Brooke," she muttered, used to my regular allowance of smartass remarks.

"That's a yes," I muttered.

"Brooke, could do the world a favor and shut your mouth, please?" she snapped.

I blinked. "Don't you think you're overreacting just a _little bit_ over a stupid volleyball drill?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at me scornfully.

"It's just a game," I said slowly.

"Maybe to you, relationships are just a game. But to me, a relationship is important, and when you discover that the guy you like turns out to be a total moron, it's a little depressing," she snapped.

"Wait, wait, wait--," I said, holding my palms out. "Did you say relationship?"

She was staggered by my observation. "Well--"

"Are you and Tobin dating?" I asked, cutting her off.

She traced her fingers on an imaginary pattern on the gym floor, ducking her head down from my incredulous stare.

"And you accused _me _of lying?" I demanded in disbelief.

"Well, your record isn't exactly squeaky clean, either," she retorted.

"That doesn't excuse your hypocrisy," I snapped.

Hailey uneasily got to her feet and tried to excuse herself from our squabble. I quickly grabbed her arm and yanked her back down onto the floor.

"Stay here, Hailey," I ordered.

"She can go if she wants to!" Jodi yelled.

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Maybe Hailey was here first. Why don't _you_ leave?"

"You know, it's really no problem for me to go somewhere else," Hailey said quietly, desperate to avoid any turmoil.

Jodi straightened. "Maybe I _will_ go."

"Good!" I shouted.

"Fine!" she hollered back, getting up and storming away. As soon as she was safely out of hearing distance, I groaned and collapsed onto my back.

"What is wrong with me today?" I asked out loud.

Hailey remained relatively silent for the remainder of the period, and I changed alone in the locker room. I felt even worse now for provoking Jodi and then exploding at her, and now instead of just one apology to deal out, I had to supply two.

Then again, why should I apologize to Jodi when I did nothing apart from my usual behavior? Jodi was the one who had lied to me, and she was just furious because she got busted, and she knew it. I had just been feigning a relationship, but she had concealed an actual relationship from me and portrayed it as just a crush. Strangely, I was more curious than angry.

Whenever we decided to speak to each other again, I would have to remember to ask her how long they'd been dating against my knowledge. I was starting to think that my obsession with Sebastian was the cause of my lack of knowledge.

Next period happened to be Lunch, and I sincerely hoped that Hailey wouldn't alienate me due to my crappy attitude, since I knew that Sebastian wouldn't want to sit next to me after I'd bitten his head off.

Thankfully, when I stepped foot into the cafeteria, Sebastian was nowhere to be found. I spotted Hailey, who waved at me to catch my attention, and just then, I heard light footsteps from behind me. My head turned instinctively towards the sounds, and I instantly regretted it.

Sebastian's hurt golden eyes met with my eyes, and for a split second, time stood still.

He broke away from my stare and looked...disappointed. Disappointed in me. I watched him as he walked away, and I desperately wanted to call out to him. But it was like I was trapped in a soundproof box, where nobody could hear me and all I could hear was the sound of my cries.

I tried to compose myself before I lost it in front of ¼ of the school. I repeated that in my head like a mantra until I was thoroughly sidetracked. I took a deep breath and ventured towards Hailey's table, taking a seat across from her.

"Hi," she said quietly.

"Hi," I repeated dully.

"Having a bad day?" she guessed.

"How could you tell?" I asked sarcastically.

She smiled faintly before she turned back to the novel beside her food tray. I stood and crossed the cafeteria to stand in the lunch line, absentmindedly scanning over the mundane cafeteria scene I'd witnessed so many times before. I froze in place after zeroing in on Sebastian, in the same table as yesterday, only I was shocked to find that there was a familiar blonde senior sitting beside him, talking animatedly.

I gritted my teeth and pretended like Sophia's presence didn't aggravate me as much as it did. After scanning through the food options, I settled for another salad and a water bottle, paid, and stormed back to Hailey's table.

"What happened?" she asked.

With my chin, I gestured to Sebastian's table, maintaining an irritated frown on my face. She craned her neck to observe, and then sank back into her chair once she got an eyeful. Without another word, she snatched up her lunch tray and pranced over to the trash can beside Sebastian's table nonchalantly.

I watched her with panicky eyes as she slowly dumped her tray out.

It was a few minutes before she returned with an empty tray.

"What were you doing?" I hissed.

She grinned. "Eavesdropping. Apparently, Sophia wasn't flirting with him, she was yelling at him."

I blinked, shocked. "About what?"

"About you," she replied, her voice becoming a squeak as her eyes flickered up to someone behind me. I knew who it was even before our eyes met.

"Go away," I muttered.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked, indifferent to the rather large chip on my shoulder.

Through clenched teeth, I muttered, "No."

"Okay, then maybe you would prefer to eavesdrop some more," he said, smiling haughtily. Hailey's eyes shifted to the table and she blushed. Her shamefaced reaction was a dead giveaway, so I didn't bother to deny it.

"Well?" he asked impatiently. "Can I talk to you or what?"

I turned to glare at him and crossed my arms over my chest, waiting for him to find the answer without any words escaping my mouth.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" he asked finally, sounding annoyed.

"You tell me," I retorted.

Sebastian faced Hailey, who still looked embarrassed. "Hailey, if you wouldn't mind...?" he asked politely.

"See you later, Brooke," she mumbled, leaving instantly.

I scowled at him in silence.

"What does 'you tell me' mean?" he asked.

"Why do you even bother waiting for an answer when you can easily get it from my eyes?" I snapped.

"I told you, I don't like doing it!" he said, raising his voice.

I rolled my eyes. "Right. Sure."

"Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

I watched him warily. "That depends."

"Why do you even bother asking _me_ questions when you only hear what you want to hear?" he asked condescendingly.

My jaw clenched as my glower turned more intensive. My gaze shifted to the table, and under my breath, I grumbled, "What exactly do you want from me?"

"I want you to trust me," he said, his voice abruptly gentle, but intense.

Confused by his sudden mood-swing, I glanced up. My breath caught in my throat at the sight of his smoldering eyes.

"Trust you?" I repeated dubiously.

"I want you to trust that I'm not lying to you," he amended.

"I know you're not _lying_ to me," I muttered. "I got angry that you were dissecting my thoughts."

"Why?" he asked, his eyes narrowed. "You didn't seem to mind when I visited your dream."

"My dreams are different than my thoughts!" I snapped.

"How can you be upset with me over something I can't control? This wasn't a choice I made, it was purely by accident!" he explained.

I exhaled. He had me there. "Am I wrong, or are you able to block out people's thoughts?"

His jaw clenched, but he managed to answer, "You're correct."

"So why is it that you listen to mine?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Simply because you fascinate me."

It took me a second to absorb that. "I...fascinate you?" I repeated dubiously.

He laughed. "You make me sound like a pedophile. I guess it came out wrong. What I meant was, you're very captivating."

I smiled despite his strange wording. "So how does it work?"

"I can hear people's thoughts when I look into their eyes. I'm not completely sure how it works, but you know what they say: the eyes are the key to the soul," he explained.

I nodded. "So you're reading my soul?"

"Kind of. The eyes are very expressive to the human eye, but to me, they tell everything," he said.

"Exactly how much do you hear?" I asked.

"Whatever's currently on your mind," he replied, smiling at me, understanding the gist of my curiosity. "Like right now, you're fighting with Jodi. And yesterday, your obsession with me."

I looked down at the table, blushing.

"Don't be embarrassed. You were running through my mind all day yesterday. Like I said, you had me completely distracted during English. And you starred in my thoughts for the rest of the day, too," he said, unabashed. I'd completely forgotten how refreshingly honest he was. And the honesty he brought out in me.

I bit my lip awkwardly.

"You don't take compliments well, do you?" he asked suddenly.

"Yes I do!" I said indignantly.

He chuckled. "And your buttons are so easily pushed."

"Don't think for one second that you have _any_ effect on my buttons!" I snapped. Once the words were out there, I realized how stupid they sounded. We exchanged glances before we both started laughing, and the sounds of our laughter weaved together effortlessly.

"I'm sorry," he managed between laughs.

I sighed, my laughter coming to an end. "It's fine."

"So, anyways," he said, concluding our awkward conversation, "I bet you're dying to ask questions now."

I smiled. "Yes, please."

He sighed theatrically. "Go on, then."

I rolled my eyes at his mini-performance. "So, the eye-reading thing. Yeah, how do you avoid that?"

He laughed. "Desperate for a little privacy, are we?"

I wasn't laughing when I nodded.

His expression gradually turned serious. "The only way to be sure that I'm not listening is to either close your eyes, look away, or cry."

"Cry?" I repeated, eyeing him curiously.

"For some reason, tears accurately block my ability to read the eyes. It's very frustrating," he said, looking baffled.

I laughed at his defeated expression. "Remind me to cry more often."

He rolled his eyes. "If you're that desperate, I can tune you out."

"Really? You'll tune me out?" I asked hopefully.

He grinned evilly. "Oh, hell no. I said I _could_, not that I will. Your thoughts are too priceless to ignore."

I groaned. "You suck."

"Thank you," he said, his grin progressing into a full-blown smile that would have knocked me over if I hadn't been safely in my seat.

"Read my eyes now," I taunted, smiling at him.

His eyes questioned my intentions, but they met mine, and suddenly he seemed appalled. "That was mean."

I shrugged apathetically. "Too bad. So is invading my dreams, because I know you can control that."

He wasn't amused. "Yes, I can control that. I had to explain it to you somehow, since I knew you're too stubborn to listen."

"Because you obviously know me so well," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

"Don't you have questions to ask?" he snapped.

My eyes dropped to my hands as I formulated another question. "What exactly...are you?" I finally asked.

He sighed. "I was afraid you would ask that."

My eyebrows pulled together. "Why were you afraid?"

He suddenly grabbed my hand and dragged me across the cafeteria, out the doors, and onto the sidewalk. It was lightly drizzling on and off, and grey clouds filled the entire sky.

"Sebastian, what is it?" I asked, alarmed.

"I'm a vampire," he admitted, dropping my hand.

My eyes widened and I took a few steps back from him. I studied him with an abruptly terrified expression. His eyes were glued on me, evaluating my reaction. I found my voice more easily than the last times, and I struggled to collect my thoughts.

"You're a...?" I began.

"Vampire," he finished, his eyes tense and hesitant.

I waited to see if he would elaborate; either by bursting into laughter, or by proving his argument. I finally decided on the latter, since I'd waited through a few minutes of silence and he'd maintained a completely somber face.

I crossed my arms over my chest, only halfway convinced. "Prove it."

He exhaled sharply. "Fine."

With one swift movement, he caught my hand in his. Once again, I was shocked by his icy touch, and I flinched away. His grip tightened around my wrist, inhumanly strong as I tried in a futile attempt to jerk away from him. His face remained completely solemn despite my struggle, and suddenly I found myself staggering backwards when his hand abruptly disappeared.

"What the--?" I glanced around me in a complete circle, astounded that his entire figure had disappeared.

A strong gust of air whooshed past me and I gasped when I was unexpectedly thrown into the air. I remained airborne for a few seconds, and then I felt the distance beginning to disappear beneath me. I squeezed my eyes shut and braced for impact until strong, steady arms caught me. I waited for a few seconds before I opened my eyes, looked up, and I gazed into Sebastian's eyes, abruptly annoyed by his triumphant grin.

"What the hell was that?" I demanded, my fierce question severely undermined by the trembling in my voice. I was still slightly traumatized by his last stunt.

He laughed loudly. "That--" he said, setting me down on my feet, "was the perks of being a vampire."

"Extreme showiness?" I guessed quietly.

He chuckled again. "No. That was the strength, speed, and valiant disposition of a vampire like me."

I laughed dryly. "Right. Once again saving me from the danger you yourself inflicted on me."

"I won't let anything hurt you," he murmured, a smile playing on his lips, but the intense sincerity of his promise apparent in his eyes. Silence dragged on as I found myself caught up in his eyes.

Our faces drifted closer, and our lips met in perfect harmony. This wasn't like one of our pretend kisses. It wasn't him planting a kiss on my lips purely for others' enjoyment; it was simply a kiss because we wanted to, and my overwhelmingly heightened senses were all concentrated on him.

I wanted nothing more but to continue kissing him on the spot, and time stood still in a way that was more powerful than before, when his hurt stare had brought tears to my eyes. This was different, and it felt like the intimacy we'd experienced in our prior kisses were magnified by a thousand. Every promise, every word felt entirely true while our lips were together, and all too soon, it was over. We were both panting, and his eyes raked over me with an unfathomable emotion burning in them.

"Wow," I breathed.

He nodded, agreeing with me.

"We should...we should get back--" I was cut off only by his lips crushed against mine again. His force had pushed me into the wall, and I knotted my fingers in his hair, bringing him closer to me. We pulled away with mutual timing, and I struggled to catch my breath.

"Sorry," he said finally, repentance visible in his eyes. "That was--"

"Amazing," I finished for him, balking his final statement from ever leaving his lips. I didn't want him to regret kissing me like that. I only wanted him to do it again.

His eyes met mine. "You really think so?"

I nodded, never more sure of anything in my life.

"You don't even care that you just kissed a vampire?" he asked. Under his breath, he added, "More than once."

I shook my head. "To be honest, I completely forgot."

His fingers interlaced with mine. "I'd forgotten, too. For the first time in forty years, I actually felt human again. Thank you."

This made me smile. "You're welcome."

He gazed into my eyes for a few seconds. "You have more questions for me."

I laughed quietly at his observation. "Yes. I was wondering, what did you mean when you said 'a vampire like me'?"

He exhaled. "Dr. Solomon had a theory, and thinks that because vampires are generally classified as villains or enemies, we could justify our name if we refrain from killing humans. By going against the stereotype, and surviving on the blood of animals, Dr. Solomon was convinced that we were little to no threat to humans, and our name was cleared."

"Does animal blood...," I struggled for the right word, "suffice?"

He pressed his lips together. "It suffices temporarily. We have to hunt every so often in order to keep our thirst in check. None of us have ever killed a human, and we intend to keep it that way."

"Is it hard for you to be close to humans? Especially me?" I asked.

He sighed. "To be fair, it would have been much easier for me if I had just kissed a girl of my own kind."

I looked down at the ground, slightly disappointed by his answer. Out of every emotion he'd felt during that kiss, I hadn't expected regret.

"But," he said firmly, catching my attention again, "it wouldn't have been the same, and I'm glad it was you."

I smiled faintly, and we headed back into the cafeteria.

* * *

Sebastian met me at my locker in between every class, the topic of his speed not astounding me as much as it had just hours before. Jodi and I continued to avoid each other, glaring balefully when we passed each other in the halls or worse, were forced to sit beside each other in World History.

Mrs. Picoult had passed back our quizzes, which I somehow managed to score the highest in the class. Still, despite my so-called high achievement, my grade was a seventy-four, which, in an honors class, was pretty pathetic.

When I'd shown Sebastian, he'd laughed aloud.

"Wow, that's…great," he lied.

"Shut up, at least I passed," I muttered, cradling my achievement to my chest.

"Right, because if you'd failed, then it would be all my fault, right?" he asked.

I nodded determinedly. "Precisely."

He rolled his eyes.

"Ahem," said an authoritative voice that caused me to snap back into reality, where Mrs. Vendetta stood before my desk in Pottery class. Thankfully, it was the last period of the day, and I shuddered at the thought of facing detention after this as opposed to heading straight home.

"Sorry," I mumbled awkwardly as I shrank away from Mrs. Vendetta's stare.

"Pay attention," she said, narrowing her eyes at me before she walked to her desk and sat down. I faced the foreign ball of clay perched in front of me, and molded absentmindedly until the period ended. I was surprised that Sophia hadn't begun to explain why she'd been yelling at Sebastian during lunch, but she caught me right as I was out the door.

Sebastian, of course, was waiting for me, too. She didn't tell him to get lost like I'd expected, but I gave her my full attention despite Sebastian's confused eyes appraising me.

Sophia dragged me to the side.

"What happened?" I asked.

She sighed. "It's about your friend Jodi."

"Ex-friend," I muttered.

She wasn't amused. "It's not good, either, but Jodi doesn't know yet, and I'm guessing it will come as less of a shock coming from her best friend rather than a senior she doesn't know or particularly like."

I waited for her to elaborate.

"Tobin's cheating on her," she finally admitted.

My eyes widened for a moment, but they narrowed as I watched her. "What does this have to do with Sebastian?"

She groaned. "When I heard, I told Sebastian about it, because I thought he could tell you about it better than I could. But instead of cooperating, he started telling me that you two weren't talking and that you and Jodi got into a fight. What was really weird was that Sebastian knew that Tobin was cheating on Jodi with Amanda before I even told him."

I feigned a confused expression, despite the fact that I knew how Sebastian could obtain that information without her saying a word.

"Anyways, the only reason I was yelling at him about you was because, when I asked him why you guys weren't speaking to each other, he got all defensive and upset. But I'm assuming that, since he's waiting impatiently for you, you're not mad at each other anymore?"

I nodded. "That's right."

"Well, I'll leave you to your detention," she said, smiling mockingly.

I rolled my eyes and met Sebastian again. He was grinning at me.

"You heard every word, didn't you?" I asked, recognizing that smug expression.

"Yep. Did I fail to mention that vampires have super sensitive hearing abilities?" he said.

"Yes, you did, but it doesn't come as much of a shock. What else can you do? Can you fly?" I asked condescendingly.

He made a face at me. "No, but I can do this," he said, digging in his pocket for something. I watched as he retrieved his cell phone, bewildered as he held his arm back and flicked his wrist, sending the phone flying into the window, causing it to shatter into a pool of shards on the floor.

I stared, wide-eyed, at what he'd just done. "Why on Earth did you do that?!"

He laughed. "I needed to find a way to get detention with you today, since you didn't have a car to drive yourself home."

"They're not just going to give you detention, idiot, they're going to arrest you!" I exclaimed.

He raised an eyebrow, doubtful about my last statement.

Teachers scrambled around to find the culprit. One teacher discovered Sebastian's phone amidst the shards, and when a freshmen homeroom teacher, Mr. Akerman, demanded who was responsible, Sebastian foolishly raised his hand. I smacked my palm onto my forehead as he stupidly turned himself in, and Mr. Akerman sentenced him for today, tomorrow, and all of next week in detention.

I laughed as he accepted his punishment, but my laughter was cut short when Mr. Akerman threatened to give me the same sentence for absolutely no reason.

A small, yet undeniably triumphant smile played across Sebastian's lips. On top of his week of detention, Sebastian's parents would also be accepting a bill for a window replacement. Sebastian seemed indifferent to his punishment, so I let it go without another word.

"How am I going to tell Jodi that Tobin is cheating on her?" I asked, sighing.

"Simple," Sebastian said. "You say, 'Hey Jodi, do you have a minute to talk? Your douche bag boyfriend is sleeping with another girl, and I think you should dump his sorry ass.' End of story."

"I'm sure that would patch up our friendship," I muttered sarcastically.

He rolled his eyes. "If she snaps at you because she senses there is something wrong with her boyfriend, she's not a very good friend anyways."

"It's called stress, Sebastian," I snapped.

"And how else did you put it? Your 'least favorite aunt'?" he asked, raising his eyebrow.

His confused expression was enough to bring on the giggles. "You know what it means, so don't pretend."

He blinked, still awaiting a response.

"You're serious?" I asked. "You don't know what I meant?"

He shook his head, obviously missing something.

"You're going to make me say it, aren't you?" I demanded, suddenly seeing right through his little innocent façade.

"Too bad, I'm not saying it," I grumbled. "And I was being serious. Jodi and I have been best friends since Junior High, I can't lose my best friend simply because she has a crappy boyfriend."

"Whom she lied about," he reminded me.

"Speaking of which, if you could see that she was lying about Tobin to me, why didn't you tell me yourself?" I demanded.

He sighed, as if he'd been anticipating this question, or one remotely similar to it. "Brooke, there are secrets that aren't mine to tell. This was one of them. If I tell you everything that's going to happen before it happens simply because I can have a look into someone's mind, then you'll be as insane as me."

"So what's your point?" I asked, annoyed.

"My point is no," he snapped.

"Fine," I muttered as we settled into our seats for detention. During the half-hour of our confinement, we were forced to copy the school handbook, and my hand was aching by the time of our release. I was rubbing it while Sebastian and I walked to his car.

"Do you want me to come over again today?" he asked casually as he climbed in, waiting for me to do the same.

"No, my mother's shift ends at four, so she'll be home soon, and I think it's a bit early for you to meet her yet," I explained, cringing at the thought of my mother fawning over Sebastian.

He nodded in understanding as he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street.

"Are you going to visit my dreams again tonight?" I asked, genuine curiosity saturating my voice.

He smiled. "Maybe."

I grinned, pleased by the thought. The rest of the ride was basically silent until he stopped in front of my driveway. I gathered my belongings from his rather expensive car.

As soon as I turned my head to say goodbye, his lips were on mine. I didn't protest as our lips moved together, and my hand dropped my backpack and gravitated to his neck. His hand was in my hair, holding me in place while he got his fill.

"Mmm," I murmured, marveling in his taste. His breath had thoroughly clouded my mind, and I completely forgot what I was going to say. Lingering on my tongue after he'd pulled away was the faint, delicious taste of wintergreen and the sweetness of honey; an unusual mix, but mouthwatering nonetheless.

"Goodbye," he whispered.

I smiled. "Bye."

Once again, I gathered my backpack and stepped onto the driveway, shutting the door behind me. I waved one final time to him and he drove away as I made my way to the front door. I let myself in and locked the door behind me, waiting a few seconds before I let everything sink in.

Was _every_ day in Sebastian's company going to be so eventful? After two days, he'd already gotten me exhausted. And the fact that his taste was still lingering in my mouth, scattering my thoughts everywhere, wasn't helping anything.

I found myself trudging through the house, nothing getting accomplished, until it was four o' clock and my mother pulled into the driveway. I opened the door before she could even get out of her car and welcomed her in. She seemed about as exhausted as me.

"_Very_ busy day at the Thriftway," she explained, setting her purse and keys down on the counter. "How was school today?"

"Fine," I said.

"Aw, you're blushing. What happened with Sebastian?" she asked, not buying my answer for a second.

I rolled my eyes and didn't answer, considering it would be strange describing our passionate kiss to my mother. She instantly understood and trudged to the couch, relaxing with a sigh.

"Hey, mom?" I asked.

"Hmm?" she replied.

"I've been having some bad dreams, and I was wondering if you knew a way to put a stop to them," I said, hoping my lie was convincing enough. Since she had exhaustion on her side, she didn't question it.

"Well, I suppose you could try some sleeping pills, but I'm not totally sure they would work," she said, looking unsure.

"Sleeping pills, thanks!" I said, grabbing my keys.

"Where are you going?" she asked, sitting up to get a good look at me.

"To the drugstore, I need some sleeping pills," I replied simply.

She studied my face for a moment. "Honey, I'm not so sure that over-the-counter sleeping pills will work."

I shrugged. "It's worth a shot. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Oh, Brooke, wait!" she called. I froze in the doorway, and turned reluctantly.

"Could you get some takeout on the way home? A McDonalds salad would be heavenly," she said, smiling at me.

Utterly unable to refuse, I nodded, and was out the door. I navigated to the Walgreen's and looked over a couple different sleeping pill brands, finally settling on one when my mother sent me a text message complaining about her ravenous hunger.

I paid at the counter, adding a tube of Sprees to my total, and was in my car again, searching for a McDonalds. When I finally found it, the drive-thru lane was immensely long, so I trudged over to the counter and bought my mother's salad and a quarter pounder with cheese for myself. Before I could resist the temptation, I ordered medium fries. I was hesitant to place the greasy bag on my seats, so it rested on my lap all the way home.

My mother barely acknowledged my existence when she snatched the bag away from me and pounced on it. We ate in silence, and I offered her my fries numerous times before I accepted that she didn't want any and I downed them all down for myself.  
I occupied myself by finishing up my homework for a while, eager to test out the sleeping pills. I hoped my mother was right about them blocking dreams, because the look on Sebastian's face would be priceless when he found out I'd found a way past his power.

I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and then washed down a pill with a glass of water. Instantly, I felt my eyelids become heavier, and I headed off to my bed. As I closed my eyes, I found myself anxiously awaiting the privilege of witnessing the baffled look on Sebastian's face once he realized I'd successfully found a way to evade him.

I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

**I hope you guys enjoyed that. It's the last update until I finish reading Breaking Dawn on Saturday. I'm locking myself in my room until I finish it, even if it sucks. I've heard so many spoilers, but they're so awful. Stupid lucky Texans and Iowans that got them early. Oh well, I will be a good fan and wait like everyone else.**

**Btw, I saw Mamma Mia! yesterday with my friend Theresa, and it was a lot better than I expected. I've had "Honey Honey" and "Lay all your love on me" stuck in my head ALL DAY!! GAH!! Anyways, only 20 hours from right now until Breaking Dawn is released, so I hope everyone likes it!**

**Please leave me a review, I'll be your best friend :D**


	6. Chapter 6: Overdose

Chapter 6:

OVERDOSE

I found myself surrounded in blinding light, and I strained my eyes to find something around me. I began to think I was seeing things when a tall, seemingly male silhouette appeared in the distance, and began to close the distance between us.

"Hello?" I called, still squinting.

"Hello," said an all-too-familiar vaguely-British voice.

I took a deep breath and gritted my teeth, clenching my fists angrily. Apparently, the sleeping pills had been nothing but a rip-off.

"Why are you here?" I asked, abruptly exasperated.

He feigned confusion. "I thought you wanted me here."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, shut up. Do me a favor and cut the crap. How did you find out?"

"About...?" he asked, his voice trailing off, painting on a perfectly innocent faç ade.

I tried to maintain a level head. "You know what I meant," I said.

He cocked his head to the side, and almost mockingly said, "I'm sorry, I still don't know what you're talking about."

I threw my hands down at my sides angrily. "The sleeping pills!"

He laughed dryly. "You actually think over-the-counter sleeping pills are going to keep me away? You're dreaming."

I wasn't amused, and he noticed. His smile evaporated, and he glared at me pointedly. "Why did you want to get away from me so badly?"

I exhaled, composing my thoughts. "It's nothing personal."

"I'm being serious," he added.

"So am I," I retorted.

"Then why? Honestly explain to me why you are so desperate to have me out of your hair? Are you still upset because of what I can't control?" he snapped, his eyes portraying how livid he was.

"No, that's not it--" I began.

"Then what? What is it, Brooke?" he exploded. When I simply exhaled and stared down at the ground, hoping the question would dissolve away if I dodged it long enough, he became angrier. "Well?"

"Sebastian, I can't handle a lack of privacy. I'm sorry, and I know you're going to take this the completely wrong way, but I just can't handle it. It's...it's uncomfortable," I explained weakly.

"Uncomfortable?" he repeated dubiously, exhaling in an acidic laugh, looking up to the ceiling. "That's so interesting. Was it as uncomfortable two days ago, when I was near you and you had no idea?"

"No, that was different!" I snapped. "You really expect me to become accustomed to someone knowing my every thought? I had no idea when I first met you that you could read my eyes and hear my every thought. I'm sorry I'm so _human_."

He rolled his eyes. "That's not what I meant."

"I don't understand," I whispered. "Can you tell me? Because I'm hopelessly confused."

He took a step closer, but I inched backwards by a sudden reflex. His eyes met mine, questioning me, and he edged towards me again. I was abruptly aware of our height difference, and I felt so feeble and small compared to him as he softly placed his fingertips on my cheek.

"Brooke," he murmured. "I can't help hearing your thoughts. It's...--"

"Inevitable," I finished for him, my voice barely more than a sigh.

He nodded, smiling faintly. "And I honestly thought you wanted me to come tonight."

I pressed my lips together before I spoke. "I did. But at the time, I didn't know about the sleeping pills yet. When my mother got home, she planted the idea in my mind, and since I knew you were coming, I wanted to try it out."

"Why?" he asked gently.

I shrugged. "It seemed like a good idea at the time. I just wanted to experiment with it, to see if it worked. But obviously it didn't."

He chuckled. "No, but I could feel some resistance."

I blinked, looking at him in shock.

"What?" he asked, startled by my expression. "What is it?"

"They worked?" I gasped.

He seemed to relax. "Not completely, seeing as I'm standing right here," he muttered.

I took a deep breath. So my devious experiment hadn't been a _complete_ failure. Interesting.

Sebastian noticed my thoughtful expression, but I was careful not to look him in the eyes.

"Don't even think about it," he said, instantly sensing my plan.

"What?" I demanded.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "You're going to down all those pills now just to spite me, aren't you?"

I frowned indignantly. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"I know exactly what I'm talking about, and I wasn't born yesterday. You are so predictable! It's written all over your face," he growled.

"What is?" I asked, annoyed.

"Your bright idea," he snapped.

I rolled my eyes. "So what's your point?"

"My point is, don't try it, Brooke. You'll end up hurting yourself," he muttered.

"Try what?" I pressed.

"Overdosing!" he shouted.

I stared at him, confused. "I wasn't even considering that. What, do you think I'm stupid?"

"No, I was just warning you," he said, suddenly backpedaling.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "That would work, wouldn't it?"

"What would?" he asked oh-so-innocently.

"Nothing, forget it," I said, playing along.

He smiled sweetly, a hint of resentment in his eyes. "I'm going to leave now."

I looked at him incredulously. "And leave me here?"

A mischievous glint appeared in his eyes. "Exactly."

"Wha-hey! You're going to leave me here alone?" I demanded.

"You'll be fine," he promised, suddenly flickering out of sight, leaving me trapped in the blindingly white room. I strained my eyes to look for him, but something in my gut assured me that he was already gone. I plopped down onto my knees and sighed, waiting for him to return.

I was left waiting longer than I had expected. How long was he going to take? And what exactly was he doing?

"I'm back," his voice suddenly said, startling me.

I took a deep breath. "Where did you go?"

"You'll see," he said conclusively. "I think I should let you go now."

I blinked, confused. "Huh?"

"You need your sleep. Goodnight," he said hurriedly, sending me back into the dreary all-too-familiar scene of my room. I groaned quietly, untangled my limbs from my blanket and instantly made a beeline towards my bathroom.

I flicked on the light and searched on the counter for the foil pack of pills that I'd left there. I cussed under my breath when I found that they were gone, and when I turned back to stomp out of the doorway, a smug Sebastian was standing there.

I shrieked, and then clamped my hand over my mouth. A shrill scream this late would confirm my mother's paranoid suspicions about serial killers in our area.

"What are you doing here?" I hissed angrily.

He simply held up the pills. "It's for your own good."

I exhaled sharply. "No. It's for _your_ own good, because you just want to prance around in my dreams while I'm trapped against my will."

He laughed dryly. "Funny. Go to sleep."

I rolled my eyes and bumped my shoulder into his purposely as I stormed past him. He didn't hesitate to follow right after me, and leaned against the wall opposite my bed while I climbed back into bed. Silence dragged on as he sat there watching me.

"I'm not going to sleep until you get out," I reminded him.

"Well I'm not getting out until you fall asleep," he said, imitating my tone.

I glowered at him in silence.

"Please go away," I finally said. "It's late, and I want to go back to sleep."

"Go back to sleep naturally. Don't destroy your body like this," he said, his tone severe.

"I'm not destroying my body," I said stubbornly. "What do you know?"

"I know enough that you would do anything, even something potentially dangerous, to get your way. Don't hurt yourself, Brooke," he warned.

I rolled my eyes. "Will you leave me alone? Maybe I wouldn't be so desperate to get away from you if you actually left," I muttered.

He exhaled, then crossed the room swiftly and closed the distance between us. "Good night. Sleep well. And please don't do anything stupid." His cold lips gently pressed against my forehead before he disappeared into my bathroom and out the window.

I sighed, nestling back into the comforters. It was eerily quiet for a few minutes, and the ideas that Sebastian had tried to dismiss suddenly seemed reasonable to me. He'd said that the sleeping pills had put up some resistance against him. If there was a little resistance to one sleeping pill, what would happen if I took a couple?

Well, that wouldn't work anyways. He'd confiscated the sleeping pills from my bathroom, so even with my brilliant idea, I was still out of luck. But wait--what was that medicine my mother always spoon-fed me when I got the common cold and had trouble sleeping?

It was that nasty-tasting "cherry-flavored" syrup that nearly induced vomiting on contact, but it always worked like a charm, making me sleepy and lessening my symptoms overnight. I wasn't sick, _per se_, but how much could it hurt to drink a little bit and test how much force is put against Sebastian?

I grinned evilly to myself and tiptoed out to the medicine cabinet in the kitchen, skimming through every bottle of cough syrup for the specific bottle. I wasn't having much luck finding it in the dark, so I reached over to flick the light switch on, also succeeding in knocking an entire line of bottles onto the floor.

I groaned and began to pick them up, reading the labels absentmindedly until I came across one that read Nyquil.

Success.

I replaced the medicine in their rightful places and rushed back to my room with the bottle of Nyquil in my hands. As long as Sebastian wasn't around to watch me like a hawk and scold me every five seconds, I could experiment all I wanted. I popped the cap off the bottle and read the dosing information.

Only two tablespoons were allowed? I'm sure that would restrain Sebastian for a split two seconds. I unthinkingly decided that doubling the dose would be more effective.

I poured the amount into a plastic cup and downed it quickly, trying to ignore the pungent taste as I filled the cup with water and washed it all down.

Well that was pleasant. I shuddered and flicked the light off. I hid the bottle in the drawer of my nightstand and crawled back under the covers, waiting for the medicine to take effect.

The faint ticking of the clock on the wall lulled me to sleep, and I was instantly in the blindingly white room with Sebastian again. I could see his silhouette pacing a couple feet away from me, and even in my dream, I felt limp and woozy.

"Sebastian?" I said weakly.

He froze in place, and I could see his chest rise and fall once before he turned towards me, his eyes piercing and his nostrils flared. Oh, boy, he looked thrilled.

He didn't say anything, though, just let me squirm underneath his powerful, reproving glare.

"Please say something," I said quietly, my eyes on the ground.

"What's there to say besides 'I told you so'? Or how about this: What the hell's the matter with you?" he thundered. "In order to spite me, you're also hurting yourself! You do realize that there are warnings on these medicines for a reason, right? Overdosing on these things is harmful to your body! Do you realize that you're severely damaging your liver by overdosing? I don't know what possessed you--"

"I get it!" I snapped. "And thanks for the lecture, Dad, but it's really not necessary. I only doubled the dose, it's not like I drank a whole drugstore's worth!"

He groaned. "You don't get it, do you? You're so set on trying to defy me that you don't even realize that you are hurting yourself! If the only way to get you to take care of yourself is to avoid you, then fine. I won't associate with you anymore. Your health is worth more than my company."

"No--" I protested.

"Don't argue with me. You're waking up right now," he said, still annoyed, fading slowly.

"Sebastian," I whispered just as I snapped back into reality.

I blinked numerous times and swung my legs over the side of the bed quickly. The blood rushed to my head, stunning me temporarily, and I toppled to the floor. Suddenly my stomach lurched.

"Bathroom," I gurgled, stumbling to my feet and into my bathroom. I just barely made it to the toilet and coughed until my stomach was empty. My ribs ached from coughing as I crouched, doubled over the toilet, my hair unrulily spread over my sweaty forehead.

"Feeling better?" came Sebastian's unruffled voice from the door.

I cleared my throat and forced myself to look at him, tears forming in my eyes. "Say it."

"Say what?" he asked softly.

"You know what, and you know you want to," I muttered.

"That I was right and I told you so?" he guessed. "Yeah, I could say it, and I could also never let you forget how badly you messed up, but I think you already know you messed up, and you're sorry."

I nodded, holding my head up with my hand. "I feel dizzy." I stumbled to my feet, and Sebastian came to my rescue just as soon as I began to topple over.

"Uh, would you mind--can I have a minute alone?" I stammered.

"Oh, sure," he said, making sure I was fully balanced before he left, closing the door behind him.

I began to brush my teeth while the hot water in the shower heated up, and my mind wandered to Sebastian. He'd been so angry while I was dreaming, and surprisingly gentle a couple minutes ago while I had my head in the toilet.

I took a deep breath, trying to relax, as I stepped into the warm shower. The steam surrounded me and the water streamed down my back. I let it soak my hair and I sighed, enjoying the warmth, although I couldn't shake the dizziness I'd felt earlier.

The steam was becoming heavier around me and I suddenly felt lightheaded. My breathing was loud in my ears, and my eyelids were droopy. The last thing I remembered was collapsing in the bathtub, the water pelting my body, and everything going back.

* * *

The frantic, yet undeniably angelic voice belonging to Sebastian was right in my ear, the cool breath tickling my skin.

"Brooke? Brooke, can you hear me?" he asked worriedly.

I felt a small smile on my lips, but my eyes wouldn't open. "Yes?"

"Listen to me, I think you might have a concussion," he explained, speaking almost too fast to comprehend. I could feel his cold hand at the base of my neck, sending goosebumps up and down my spine.

"Could you do me a favor?" I whispered.

"What is it?" he asked gently.

"Kiss me," I said, biting my lip.

"You aren't listening to me. I'm taking you to the hospital," he said.

I pouted. "I'm not going to the hospital. I'm staying here. With you."

"Brooke, under any other circumstances, I would love to sit here and argue with you for hours, but right now I am being dead serious. You _have to trust me on this,_" he urged.

"I'll go if you kiss me," I offered.

"You promise?" he asked hesitantly.

"I _promise_," I said enthusiastically, suddenly realizing he was leaning on top of me.

"Okay," he murmured, his lips only inches from mine. My eyes were still shut, but I could smell his cold breath just close enough to drive me mad.

His lips gently touched mine, staying completely still for a few torturously long seconds. Why was he tempting me like this?

"Please," I whispered from underneath his lips.

"You promised," he reminded me quietly.

"Kiss me," I repeated.

And he obeyed. His lips were suddenly hungry against mine, and he was completely pinning me to my bed. It was just now that I realized I had collapsed _in the shower_ with no clothes on.

"Holy--" I gasped, my hands pushing Sebastian away fiercely. I had finally opened my eyes, and I held my breath as I threw the covers off me.

Sebastian's eyes were concerned as he watched me.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his breathing as ragged as mine.

"I was--I was in the shower. What happened?" I stammered, struggling to remember.

He sighed, his golden eyes searching mine for a second while he gathered his thoughts. "You were in the shower and I heard you fall. I had no other option but to get you."

I closed my eyes, thoroughly mortified, and put a hand over my eyes. I was too ashamed to look at him. An unavoidable question hung in between us. "You didn't see me naked, did you?" I finally asked.

He laughed. "No."

I sighed, relieved. "So you wrapped me in a towel without looking at me even a bit?"

"I swear," he whispered, coming closer to me again, luring me in. As soon as his lips almost touched mine, he pulled away and clapped his hands together, smiling sweetly. "Well, time for a visit to the hospital!"

"What?!" I demanded, my voice cracking.

"Well, you promised, and I kissed you, so it's time to go," he said, his eyes showing nothing but pure innocence. When I glowered at him, he even had the nerve to flash another breathtaking smile.

"Stop that. You and I both know I don't have a concussion," I grumbled.

"No, we have absolutely no way of knowing that without a doctor's diagnosis, and we both know it," he said smugly. "Come on, put some clothes on, I'll drive you there."

"My mom will know," I pointed out.

"Please, if I can read eyes and visit people's dreams, don't you think I can put a car in neutral and sneak it out of someone's driveway?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, just give me a second to get dressed."

I held the towel up around myself and gathered a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants.

"Are you seriously going to force me to go to the hospital? You know, it's really not necessary," I said.

"You promised," he reminded me in a singsong voice.

"Shut up," I said, mocking his tone. "I was temporarily under the influence...of cold medicine," I paused and glanced at his face. His eyebrows were raised and his eyes were silently questioning my sanity. "Oh, shut up, I'm coming!"

I shut my bathroom door behind me and shed the towel in exchange for my clothes. For some reason, I couldn't get the warm red blush to disappear from my cheeks after the awkward conversation with Sebastian. I shook my damp hair out and opened the door, jumping a little when he was right outside the door.

"I won't force you to go right now if you don't want to," he said, biting his lip.

I looked at him, confused. "But--"

"But you can't sleep anymore tonight," he finished.

I grinned. "So don't let me fall asleep."

He sighed. "I was hoping you wouldn't enjoy this."

"Why do you say that? It gives me a chance to ask more questions," I said, my grin becoming more and more pronounced.

"Oh, joy," he mumbled under his breath.

We both climbed onto my bed, and I got comfortable on my pillows while he stretched out at the foot of my bed.

"What do you want to ask me?" he asked, trying to fake eagerness.

I sighed. "Have you ever been in love?"

He suddenly looked unsure. "Define 'love'."

I looked down at the covers. That wasn't the response I'd been hoping for--but how realistic could my expectations be? What girl didn't pine for her very own Prince Charming, who'd been waiting his whole life to find her? How likely was it that I would get my own Prince Charming?

I never responded, just waited patiently for him to elaborate.

"When I was still human in New Hampshire, I grew up with this girl named Samantha. We first met when we were both in diapers, and she was Anneleise's friend. As we grew up together, she only saw me as a friend. Around sixth grade, I started seeing her as more than that, and once we were in high school, I had completely fallen for her, and I was convinced that I loved her," he explained, gauging my reaction.

I kept a light smile on my face as he explained, slightly impressed by his honesty, even if it did sting a little.

"But she was a year older than me, and she never even considered someone younger than her. She was preoccupied with a college sophomore who had been showing some interest in her. One day she just went missing, and it turns out she had eloped with him.

"Of course, I wasn't happy, but what could I do? I was heartbroken, but I healed over time," he said, seeming suddenly distant. He placed his hand over mine, and I glanced up at him with my eyebrows raised. "How about you?"

"Have I ever been in love?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Kind of like you did. In fourth grade, I developed this huge crush on my friend Cody. His twin brother Aiden was the only one who knew about it. I decided I wanted to tell Cody that I liked him on Valentine's Day by leaving him a card in his desk, but his reaction was definitely not what I'd wanted.

"He was a little weirded out by it, and he stopped talking to me. Aiden was really sorry and he was still my friend, but things were different. It sucked, and I was heartbroken. Four years later, Aiden and I were still friends, and Cody and I had established a sufficiently awkward relationship where he exchanged "hello's and got it over with. When middle school was over with, we just went our separate ways and went to different high schools," I explained.

He nodded. "So we've both had our broken hearts, but never a relationship?"

"Yep."

"But now what about us?" he asked.

I smiled, not meeting his gaze. "What _about_ us? We're just 'pretending', right?"

"I don't know, are we?" he asked, smirking at me.

I looked at him, questioning his motives. "What are you proposing?"

"Would you be willing to try?"

"Try...?" I said, grinning.

"Try us," he replied.

"Sure."

He smiled widely, flashing his bright white teeth. "Okay, now I have a question for you."

"Shoot," I said, leaning back onto my pillow, completely at ease.

"How do you feel about me?" he asked, his smile growing even wider at my reaction. I would bet that as soon as he was finished asking the question, he would read my eyes, so I quickly closed them.

"Cheater!" he said playfully.

I grinned, feeling victorious.

"You still haven't answered my question," he reminded me, his voice suddenly closer.

"I..." I paused, trying to gather the right words and hope that I could deliver them coherently, "I like you."

"Good," he breathed, even closer, if it was possible. "Because I _really_ like you."

"Really?" I asked, smiling involuntarily.

"Really," he replied hurriedly, his lips on mine.

"Wow," I said when he paused.

His lips gently trailed down the base of my throat. "Won't you open your eyes now?" he murmured.

"Nah, not yet. Too much fun to drive you crazy," I replied. "What time is it?"

His cold lips disappeared. "Quarter to four."

"All this kissing is exhausting," I lied, yawning, finally resolving to open my eyes.

"You're such a liar," he laughed. "But you can't go to sleep."

"What about school? I'll be a zombie tomorrow if I don't get any sleep," I pointed out.

His eyes were serious. "It's either zombie like or comatose. Pick your poison."

_I guess I deserved that. _

"Yes, you did," he said, answering my unspoken thought.

"Don't do that," I ordered.

"Yes, ma'am." He grinned, lightening the mood.

"Now I'm really tired," I admitted. "Please can I sleep? I'm telling you right now; swear on my grandmother's grave, that I do _not _have a concussion. I didn't even fall on my head."

"You wouldn't remember anyways," he muttered.

"I remember that a towel was magically wrapped around my naked body," I said under my breath.

"I told you I saw nothing," he said defensively.

I giggled. "I know, but you seem awfully on edge."

"I am not," he grumbled. If he could blush, he would right now.

I spread out under the covers and snuggled up to my pillow. "Good night," I sighed sleepily.

He stroked my now-dry hair softly and spoke wistfully, "I guess you can sleep. You only have a couple hours anyways. Get some rest, sleepyhead. I'll be waiting."

"Okay," I said, my eyelids drooping.

I was already nearly unconscious when I imagined Sebastian whispering, "I love you," in my ear.

I had to just be hallucinating. I was suffering from sleep deprivation anyways, and the overdose on cold medications could not have helped me in the coherency department.

But was it possible he might actually _love_ me?

* * *

And there you have it! Chapter 6! This chapter was fun to write after my extremely extended break from writing. Thank you to my handful of readers, especially La Sorciere, for being loyal. If I lost any readers due to my extreme laziness, it's all my fault and I accept that. But please, if you enjoyed that or just have any thoughts at all you want to express, please please please give me a review! I love hearing your thoughts! If you have the time to favorite/subscribe to me or any of my stories, please take a couple minutes to review. I promise I won't take so long to update again, so please stay tuned and review =D

And I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving!


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